The 13th-ranked Kentucky men?s tennis team kicks off the 2005 regular season Sunday afternoon against Belmont and DePaul at UK?s Boone Tennis Center. The Cats take on DePaul at 12 p.m. EST and Belmont at approximately 4 p.m. EST.

The 2005 UK men feature third-ranked senior All-American Jesse Witten, 108th-ranked senior Tigran Martirosyan, an All-SEC selection a year ago, and 120th-ranked junior Nate Emge, who picked up a victory in the fall over Auburn?s sixth-ranked Gabor Zoltan Pelva. Coach Dennis Emery, now in his 23rd season in Lexington, picked up his 400th win at Kentucky last season and will pick up his 500th overall victory later this season. Emery welcomes the return of his son, Matt, a senior who redshirted a season ago, along with letter winners Matt Allinder, Alex Hume and Jason Mallaiah. Freshmen Marcus Sundh, Nolan Polley and Kenny Hodge enter the fold in 2005, as does junior Carey Rubin, a Michigan transfer.

As is the norm, Emery has lined up a challenging schedule for the 2005 Cats. Top-ranked defending national champion Baylor visits the Boone Tennis Complex on Saturday, Feb. 5, and after another home date with Louisville, Kentucky will head to Chicago to participate in the ITA National Team Indoors, where the Cats are guaranteed three matches against some of the nation?s top teams. A trip through the conference schedule will bring Georgia and Tennessee to Lexington, though the Cats will be forced to travel to Florida and Ole Miss, featuring top-ranked Catalin Gard.

Kentucky plays host to another doubleheader Wednesday at the Boone Tennis Center when Appalachian State and Abilene Christian come to Lexington.