March 7, 2003

The ninth-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennis team has its hands full this weekend as the Wildcats welcome a couple of highly-ranked opponents to Lexington. UK (8-4) will take on No. 38 Indiana (10-1) Saturday at 1 p.m. and No. 4 Baylor (11-1) at 3 p.m. Sunday. All matches will be held at the Boone Tennis Complex on the UK campus.

With favorable weather conditions expected Saturday, UK’s match with IU will likely be the Wildcats’ first outdoor match of 2003. The Cats and Hoosiers last met Mar. 14, 2002 in Lexington as UK handed IU a 6-1 defeat. Kentucky and Baylor clashed the following weekend in Waco, Texas when the Bears knocked off the Wildcats, 4-3.

In the schools’ last meeting, BU’s Benjamin Becker defeated UK’s Jesse Witten, who would go on to finish as the 2002 NCAA runner-up. A potential rematch looms Saturday, though Witten, ranked tenth in the latest ITA rankings, may instead face top-ranked Benedikt Dorsch.

Baylor boasts five ITA-ranked student-athletes in Dorsch, No. 30 Matias Marin, No. 51 Zoltan Papp, the 67th-ranked Becker and No. 105 Ivor Lovrak. In doubles, Dorsch teams with Reiner Neurohr to form the ITA’s 34th-ranked doubles pair.

In addition to Witten, Kentucky counters with No. 104 Rahim Esmail. Freshman Alex Hume also has added a formidable presence to the Wildcats’ lineup, entering weekend play with a 22-9 overall record.

Kentucky Coach Dennis Emery foresees a lively weekend of collegiate tennis.

“We’ve had exciting and competitive matches with Indiana and Baylor in the past, and I expect nothing less against these two schools this weekend,” Emery said.