No. 25 Kentucky Begins SEC Tournament Thursday

TUSCALOOSA, Ala..  – The No. 25 Kentucky men’s tennis team will begin postseason play this week after heading to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Wildcats earned the fifth seed in the tournament after going 7-5 in league play and will play either No. 12 Alabama or No. 13 Auburn on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET.
 
The tournament will begin on Wednesday, April 25 with the Crimson Tide taking on the Tigers. The championship match will be played on Sunday, April 29 at 1 p.m. live on SEC Network.
 
The most recent Oracle ITA rankings have UK at No. 25 in the nation. Two individuals – Ryo Matsumura and Will Bushamuka – are ranked in singles while Cesar Bourgois and Gus Benson come in at No 18 in doubles. Matsumura is up to No. 8 in the country after another ranked win last week, taking down No. 29 Wayne Montgomery of No. 25 Georgia, 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 6-2. Matsumura is 9-2 against nationally ranked opponents this year.
 
Bushamuka is ranked 9-7 this season with four wins over nationally ranked opponents. He earned one win last week on the No. 2 court, beating Luis Valero 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).
 
The duo of Bourgois and Benson moved up one spot to No. 18 after defeating No. 15 Robert Loeb and Jan Zielinski of No. 25 Georgia. They are 8-6 this season on the No. 1 court and have two wins over nationally ranked opponents.
 
Auburn is 12-17 overall this year and 1-11 in SEC play. Freshman Matteo De Vincentis is the highest ranked Tiger at No.  86. Alabama is currently ranked No. 50 in the nation. Junior Mazen Osama ranks as the No. 18 singles player in the country, with a 12-7 record, including six wins over national-ranked opponents. Sophomore Edson Ortiz leads the team with in the spring with a 16-5 record, while sophomore Alexey Nesterov is second on the squad with a 15-7 mark.
 
The winner of the Thursday’s match will face No. 4 Tennessee on Friday at 5 p.m.
 
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter or Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team on Facebook.