March 15, 2000
The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team will be playing for its fourth consecutive win on Thursday, March 18 when the 25th-ranked Wildcats travel to Oxford to face the 8th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels. The match marks the first of three consecutive Southeastern Conference road matches for the Cats (7-5, 1-0 SEC).
UK’s men have been on a roll since competing in the USTA/ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championships, Feb. 24-27. After going 1-2 in the tournament and tying for 11th place as they dropped gut-wrenching matches to No. 4 Duke and No. 11 Southern Methodist, the UK men are 3-0 with wins over Indiana, Bowling Green and Harvard.??
After suffering some tough losses early in the season, the Wildcats have been getting better results from their top players of late. Carlos Drada, ranked 11th in the nation, has played world-class tennis during the team’s three-match stretch. The senior won at the No. 1 singles spot against BGSU and Harvard and won at No. 2 against Indiana. Playing in the No. 2 & 3 singles spots, junior Edo Bawono has recorded three consecutive straight-set victories during the team’s hot streak. The 33rd-ranked doubles team of Johan Hesoun and Gustav Pousette have really been playing up to their capabilities of late, winning all three of their No. 1 doubles matches last week.
The Wildcats have a 22-11 all-tie record against Ole Miss, but dropped most most recent match-up, 5-2, last year on April 1 at the Boone Tennis Center in Lexington. Ole Miss (7-2, 1-0 SEC) is also undefeated in four matches after going 1-2 at the National Indoors and tying for 7th place. Included in their four-match win streak is a 4-3 win over 7th-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville on March 7.
UK was scheduled to play South Alabama on Saturday, March 18, but that match was cancelled. The next match for the Cats is Monday, March 20 when they travel to the Capstone State to take on SEC foe Auburn (6-1, 1-1 SEC). The Cats close their road swing at No. 4 Florida on March 26, before returning home to play host to the defending NCAA Champion Georgia Bulldogs on March 31 at 6 p.m. at the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Complex on the UK campus.
