April 23, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After picking up two more victories this week at the Southeastern Conference Tournament over the 12th– and sixth-ranked players nationally, University of Kentucky senior Anthony Rossi ascended to his newest career-high ranking on Tuesday, as he climbed to No. 5 in the nation in singles, it was announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Rossi upped his record to 22-5 on the season with the two wins this weekend over No. 12 Romain Bogaerts of Mississippi State and No. 6 KU Singh of Georgia. Both wins came in straight sets, as Rossi yet again showed his year-long leadership on and off the court, earning critical points in the two matches.
The team checked in at No. 8 this week, up three spots after picking up its third win of the season over Mississippi State, who entered the week in the No. 9 slot. Of the current composition of the ITA top 10, Kentucky has played seven matches against those teams.
The Southeastern Conference continues its stranglehold at the top of the nation’s best, as the SEC boasts 10 of the top 20 teams in the nation in No. 3 Georgia, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 8 Kentucky, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 12 Mississippi State, No. 15 Florida, No. 16 Vanderbilt, No. 17 South Carolina and No. 20 Louisiana State.
After a 1-1 weekend, junior Tom Jomby and freshman Kevin Lai ascended one spot in the rankings to No. 8 nationally in doubles. The duo has compiled a 15-8 record on the season and played at the No. 1 spot all season long. Included in Jomby/Lai’s long line of impressive wins is a victory over current No. 6 Daniel Cochrane and Andreas Mies of Auburn, 8-6.
In singles, Jomby is also No. 22 nationally, as he went 1-1 on the weekend in Oxford.
Kentucky will be back in action for the NCAA Tournament on May 10-12. The top 16 teams in the country will be selected as host institutions for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats will learn their destination and seeding in the NCAA Selection Show on April 30 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The broadcast will be live on NCAAsports.com.
For more information, log onto UKathletics.com.
