March 17, 2009
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Riding a three-match win streak the No. 13 Kentucky men’s tennis team steps out of conference for its only match this week to take on No. 45 Miami at the Hurricanes’ Neil Schiff Tennis Center at 3:00 p.m. ET Wednesday.
UK (11-4, 2-2 SEC) improved eight spots in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings released Tuesday morning after three home wins over No. 44 Arkansas, No. 35 LSU and Eastern Kentucky last weekend. The Cats allowed just one team point through the three contests, outscoring the opposition 19-1 to remain undefeated at home.
The Southeastern Conference has three of the top five teams in the nation including No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Tennessee and No. 5 Ole Miss. The eighth-ranked Florida Gators increases the SEC team total to four of the top 10 nationally. UK has already defeated the fourth-ranked Volunteers on the road in non-conference play this season.
Senior Bruno Agostinelli is the nation’s fifth-ranked singles player entering the mid-week contest. He carries an 8-4 singles record this season with four wins over top-30 opponents. In doubles, Agostinelli is also ranked with sophomore Brad Cox at 22nd in the nation.
Freshman Eric Quigley, of Pewee Valley, Ky., is also ranked in singles for the Cats at No. 111 in the country. He carries an 11-2 singles record in the dual match season and is undefeated in the Southeastern Conference at 4-0. Quigley increased his singles win streak to eight matches; giving up six games or less in seven of those victories. Ten of Quigley’s 11 wins have been in straight sets, all at the No. 3 position.
Miami (6-5) is coming off of a 7-0 win against UCF on the road Sunday after a 5-2 loss at No. 27 South Florida the day before. The `Canes are 4-1 at home this season. Last year, the Kentucky lost a tight match to Miami in Lexington, 4-3. UM head coach Mario Rincon is a former Wildcat tennis player that was a member of UK head coach Dennis Emery’s teams in the late 1980s.
Kentucky and Miami share two common opponents: No. 36 Rice and No. 8 Florida. The Hurricanes’ only home loss of the season was a 4-3 decision to Rice while the Cats defeated the Owls on a neutral court, 4-3, a week later. Both squads fell on the road to the Gators in Gainesville. UK dropped a close 4-3 match two weeks ago, after Florida beat Miami, 5-2, the week prior.
Three Miami players are ranked in the latest ITA men’s singles poll, including No. 29 Daniel Vallverdu, No. 90 Carl Sundberg and No. 117 Christian Blocker.
Please visit UKathletics.com for live stats and a full recap of tomorrow’s match.
