The 15th-ranked University of Kentucky men?s tennis team (6-3, 1-0) meets third-ranked Florida (6-3, 0-1) Sunday in its second conference match of the season. The Cats and Gators will do battle beginning at 1 p.m. EST at UK?s Boone Tennis Complex. Live scoring updates will be provided at ukathletics.com.
The Gators are coached by Frankfort, Ky., native and UK alum Andy Jackson, who played for current UK Coach Dennis Emery from 1982-84. Jackson brings a talented group of Gators to Lexington, including No. 19 Hamid Mirzadeh, No. 45 Janne Holmia and No. 46 Vlad Obradovic. Trey Johnson pairs with Obradovic to solidify the nation?s 37th-ranked doubles tandem. UK counters with native Floridian Jesse Witten at No. 14 and junior Tigran Martirosyan at No. 56. Witten teams with senior Rahim Esmail as the 31st-ranked doubles duo.
The two teams met twice a season ago with Florida taking both contests. The Gators scored a 6-1 win in Gainesville and a 4-1 victory in Oxford, Miss., to eliminate the Cats from the SEC Tournament. UK?s Witten defeated Florida?s Mirzadeh in each match.
Florida is coming off of a 5-2 defeat Friday evening at Vanderbilt, while Kentucky held off a late rally from South Carolina to win 4-3 Friday in Columbia, S.C.