Kentucky Women’s Tennis Releases Preseason Fall Schedule
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Just four months removed from recording its best season record (19-9) in 12 years, the University of Kentucky women’s tennis program has released its preseason fall schedule, highlighted by the second annual Kentucky Invite that features four power-five programs.
Ten tournaments makeup the fall campaign, including three pro-circuit contests in the International Tennis Federation.
The nine-team roster, which features three newcomers and six returners, will split in two to open the fall slate, Oct. 4-6. Half of the team will travel to Evanston, Illinois, to compete in the Wildcat Invite hosted by Northwestern University. The other half of the team will head southwest to Waco, Texas, to compete in the Baylor Invite, formerly named the H-E-B Invitational.
The Wildcats did not play in the H-E-B Invitational last season, but did compete in the tournament in 2017. Kentucky is a regular contender in the Wildcat Invite.
Following the fall openers, select players will compete in the pre-qualifying draw of the Saint Francis Health System All-American Championships, hosted at the University of Tulsa beginning on Oct. 5.
Two pro-circuit tournaments follow the All-American Championships, an opportunity to earn rank in the World Tennis Association. Select Wildcats will compete in the qualifying draws of the ITF 25K Hilton Head in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Oct. 6-8. One week later, select players will compete in the qualifying draw of the ITF 15K Florence in Florence, South Carolina, Oct. 12-18.
After what will already be a busy month, October action will end at the all-important Ohio Valley Regional Championships in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Oct. 17-22. Ten teams makeup the Ohio Valley region, including Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Kentucky, Purdue, Indiana, Xavier, Austin Peay, Louisville, Memphis and MTSU. In 2019, Kentucky finished third in the Ohio Valley rankings behind No. 1 Vanderbilt and No. 2 Tennessee. Vanderbilt and Tennessee also finished in the Oracle/International Tennis Association Top 25.
Midway through the preseason schedule, UK will host the second annual Kentucky Invite at Top Seed Tennis, Nov. 1-3. Six teams makeup the field, three more teams than last season’s invite, including DePaul, Kentucky, Miami (Ohio), Penn State, Utah and Virginia Tech. The Hokies are the only returning visiting team from last season.
There is no cost to attend and fans are encouraged to come and get an early look at the team ahead of a tough regular-season schedule that will commence in January. The layout will feature a hidden-dual format, with the doubles contest beginning each morning at 9 a.m., followed by the singles rounds at 10 a.m. Last season, Kentucky players gathered a combined 30 wins, of 34 possible, in the three-day stretch, reporting only four losses – three in singles and one in doubles.
Rounding out the November slate, select Wildcats will take their turn in the final pro-circuit tournament on the fall schedule, competing in the qualifying draw at the ITF 25K Orlando in Orlando, Florida, Nov. 11-17.
After a month-long hiatus from action, the team will conclude its preseason slate at the Vero Beach Invite in Vero Beach, Florida, Jan. 10-13.
Kentucky added three newcomers to its 2019-20 roster after losing three players, including All-Southeastern Conference First Team recipient and then-senior Justina Mikulskyte. The program added three natives of Spain, including Carla Girbau, Carlota Molina and Maialen Morante.
Fall tournaments are designed to give collegiate players practice ahead of the regular season and do not replicate a dual-match format where teams compete head-to-head. Scores are attached to the athlete for preseason ranking and professional ranking purposes, but do not attach to their regular-season records.
The full schedule is available here.
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