No. 23 Kentucky Returns To Boone Tennis Center to Host LSU, No. 6 Texas A&M

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 23 Kentucky (12-6, 5-2 SEC) men’s tennis team will return to the Boone Tennis Center this weekend to host LSU and No. 6 Texas A&M. UK will face the Tigers on Friday at 5 p.m. and the Aggies on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Last weekend, Kentucky went 1-1 after beating Auburn and falling to Mississippi State. UK took down AU 5-2, and earned wins from Ryo Matsumura. Will Bushmuka, Enzo Wallart and Trey Yates. Bushamuka’s win was his first ranked victory of the season when he beat no. 109 Matteo De Vincentis.

While the Wildcats did not beat the Bulldogs, UK grabbed a win on the top two courts over highly ranked opponents. Matsumura beat No. 3 Nuno Borges, 6-2, 6-3, and Bushamuka second ranked win in as many days with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8) win over No. 13 Giovanni Oradini.

Ryo Matsumura is the only ranked Wildcat in the latest Oracle ITA rankings, coming in at No. 26 in the country. Matsumura’s lone loss came against Duke in February, and he is perfect against ranked opponents.

On the doubles side, two Wildcat duos are currently ranked. Cesar Bourgois and Gus Benson went from being unranked all the way up to No. 31 in the country after spending the season unranked. Bourgois and Benson have two ranked wins, including a win over the No. 20 duo of Tim Sandkaulen and Fabian Fallert of Mississippi. Trey Yates and Enzo Wallart are also ranked at No. 73.

LSU comes to Lexington with a record of 8-10 and 1-5 in conference play. Last season, Kentucky beat LSU 5-2 in Baton Rouge. LSU does not have a road win this season. The Tigers will finish the weekend at Vanderbilt on Sunday.

Texas A&M is 14-4 overall and a perfect 6-0 in league matches so far this season. The Aggies are 6-3 against ranked opponents this season, including wins over No. 3 North Carolina and No. 11 Florida. Arthur Rinderkench is the highest ranked Aggie at No. 6, and No. 25 Valentin Vacherot, No. 37 Patrick Kypson, No. 49 Jordi Arconada and No. 105 AJ Catanzariti are all ranked. Rinderkench has won 11-straight and is 15-1 this season, with eight wins coming over ranked opponents.

For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter or Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team on Facebook.