March 20, 2003

The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team will attempt to even the score this weekend as the Wildcats travel to Oxford, Miss. for a match against sixth-ranked Ole Miss. The match is set for 2 p.m. EST at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. UK (11-6, 3-1) is looking to avenge a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Rebels on Feb. 22 at the National Indoors in Louisville.

Ole Miss (11-2, 3-1) features three student-athletes ranked in the ITA’s top 30 in Alex Hartman, Paul Ciorascu and Catalin Gard. A highly-competitive match is in the making at No. 1 Friday as the 19th-ranked Hartman will take on Kentucky’s 11th-ranked Jesse Witten. Hartman defeated Witten in two sets in their last meeting in Louisville.

Kentucky features four student-athletes in the latest ITA rankings: the 11th-ranked Witten, No. 70 Karim Benmansour, No. 102 Rahim Esmail and No. 109 Alex Hume.

Friday’s appearance in Oxford will be the first of two the Wildcats will make this season. This year’s SEC Tournament will be held on the Ole Miss campus from Thursday, April 17 through Sunday, April 20.