March 11, 2010

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a challenging start to the season that has seen the Wildcats play only one home match, the University of Kentucky women’s tennis team will be delighted to see familiar faces at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex this weekend. The Wildcats host their Southeastern Conference home opener, facing tough competitors from Georgia on Friday at 4 p.m. ET and border-rival Tennessee on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

Kentucky looks to change its luck in the SEC standings after a strenuous two-match road trip in Mississippi where it fell to the Rebels of Ole Miss and the Bulldogs of Mississippi State. Senior Christine Johnston and sophomore Caroline Lilley chalked up important singles wins last weekend.

Lilley, a native of Portland, Ore., battled Mississippi State’s Radka Ferancova to the wire and was declared the victor after the third-set tiebreaker, 4-6, 6-4, (10-8). She also has defeated two ITA ranked players this season in then-No. 82 Alexa Guarachi of Alabama and then-No. 66 Sasha Krupina.

Wildcat captain Johnston has been rock solid this season at No. 3 singles. Johnston was undefeated in Mississippi, defeating Natalia Mayuk of Mississippi State 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 and Rebel player Abby Guthrie 5-7, 7-6 (10-8), (12-10). The Columbus native is on a four-match win streak, conquering every opponent she’s met since Kentucky’s most recent home bout with Marshall on Feb. 10.

Georgia holds a 6-3, 2-0 SEC record for the season while Tennessee boasts an 8-4, 2-0 SEC tally. Both teams most recently kicked off their SEC slates with wins against Auburn and Alabama.

Live statistics and a full recap of the matches with Georgia and Tennessee can be found by visiting UKathletics.com.