April 17, 2014

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After finishing the regular season at 20-8 overall and 9-3 within the Southeastern Conference, the No. 12 University of Kentucky men’s tennis team is set to take on the field at the 2014 Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tenn., beginning on Friday morning at 9 a.m. CT in the quarterfinal round. The No. 3 seeded Wildcats will take on the winner of (6) Tennessee and (11) Ole Miss to begin their tournament on Friday.

The Wildcats by virtue of finishing the SEC regular season at 9-3 earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, and received a bye in both the first and second rounds to advance to the quarterfinals with a double-bye.

The No. 6 seeded Tennessee Volunteers and No. 11 seeded Ole Miss rebels will square off today at 9 a.m. CT for the right to play the Wildcats. Kentucky beat both Ole Miss (4-1) and Tennessee (4-1) in the regular season. Kentucky beat the Volunteers on the road in Knoxville, with the Wildcats topping the Rebels in Lexington, Ky., at the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center.

After its win over No. 1 Ohio State on Wednesday, and combining it with wins over No. 35 South Carolina, Murray State and Morehead State, the Wildcats moved up two spots in the national Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s team rankings from No. 14 to No. 12. The top 16 teams in the country at the end of the season will earn the right to host the First and Second Rounds of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships on their campus sites.

Seniors Tom Jomby and Alejandro Gomez both moved up in the singles rankings as well this week, as Jomby darted up two spots from No. 13 to No. 11 this week, and for the fifth-straight singles rankings release, is the top-ranked player in the Southeastern Conference. Gomez, the Cali, Colombia, native moved up from No. 85 to No. 80 this week after going 4-0 in singles action and 2-0 in doubles a week ago, including picking up the Wildcats’ second point in a 4-1 win over No. 1 Ohio State. 

Vanderbilt will serve as the hosts for the 2014 SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament and will be providing live stats for all 12 matches this week at VUcommodores.com. Should the Wildcats advance to the semifinals, their match would be at 10 a.m. CT in Nashville.

For continuing coverage of UK men’s tennis, log on to UKathletics.com.