April 29, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team was selected to host the first and second rounds of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center for the sixth-consecutive season, it was announced by the NCAA on Tuesday afternoon. The Wildcats earned the No. 15 seed nationally.
The No. 15 seeded Wildcats will host (2) Clemson, (3) Purdue and (4) Denver on May 9 and 10 in Lexington for the right to go to the 2014 NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga.
The Wildcats generated an impressive resume for the NCAA committee, including wins over No. 1 Ohio State, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 11 Duke, No. 17 Mississippi State, No. 20 Tennessee and No. 21 Vanderbilt. Kentucky’s highest ranking of the season was No. 8.
UK has hosted the NCAA Tournament the last six seasons, and have advanced out of the Lexington Regional each of the past four seasons to the NCAA Sweet 16, for the first time in program history.
The Clemson Tigers, who will be the No. 2 seed in the Lexington Regional finished the season 20-8 overall on the 2014 season, and finished in the top half of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Clemson racked up non-conference wins over Ole Miss, Auburn, Princeton and Boise State, with all but one of those matches coming at home in Clemson. The Tigers also got big conference wins over Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Boston College in ACC action. Clemson advanced to the 2014 ACC Tournament quarterfinals, where they fell to Notre Dame, 4-2.
The No. 3 seed in the Lexington regional will be the Purdue Boilermakers, who finished the season 15-7 and 7-5 in the B1G. The Boilermakers sport an impressive 10-1 record at home, and are 5-6 away from West Lafayette, Ind., in the 2014 season. Purdue has claimed six wins over top-75 ranked teams this season, and their marquee win came against Penn State, back on April 11. Purdue lost to No. 32 Northwestern in the first round of the B1G Tournament.
Clemson and Purdue will be the opening match of the Lexington Regional, and will start at Noon ET on Friday, May 9.
The Wildcats will take on the No. 4 seeded Denver Pioneers, who earned their bid by collecting the 2014 Summit Tournament Championship with a 4-1 win over Ft. Wayne in the championship match. The Pioneers finished the regular season at 12-10 and 5-0 in conference action. The Pioneers are a perfect 10-0 at home this season, and 3-7 away from Denver. DU won its consolation match on ITA Kick Off Weekend, beating Middle Tennessee St., 4-1.
Tickets for the Lexington Regional will go on sale Monday, May 5. Fans can purchase championship passes or single-match tickets by calling 1-800-928-CATS or by visiting the UK Ticket Office in person at the Joe Craft Center in Lexington.
Ticket Prices:
-Adult tournament pass (all matches) – $10
-Child/Senior tournament pass (all matches) – $6
-Adult single-day pass – $6
-Child/Senior single-day pass – $4
2014 Lexington Regional Schedule:
Friday, May 9, 2014
Noon ET – (2) Clemson vs. (3) Purdue
Not before 3 p.m. ET – (1) Kentucky vs. (4) Denver
Saturday, May 10, 2014
3 p.m. ET – Winner match 1 vs. Winner match 2*
*winner to the NCAA Championships
For continuing coverage of UK men’s tennis, log on to UKathletics.com.
