March 6, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After beginning the Southeastern Conference season with two wins against No. 39 Louisiana State and No. 47 Arkansas, the University of Kentucky men’s tennis team moved up to fifth in Tuesday’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, marking the program’s highest ranking since the 2004 season.
Kentucky (14-2) has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, as the Wildcats have played seven matches against the top 25, going 5-2 in those matches. In addition, UK has played four top-10 opponents, going 3-1 in those matches, as the Wildcats have knocked off No. 6 Georgia (4-2), No. 8 Oklahoma (4-3) and No. 10 Mississippi State (4-0).
In addition to the national team ranking, Kentucky has one doubles pair ranked in the nations top 25, along with Tom Jomby and Anthony Rossi. Jomby and doubles partner Kevin Lai check in at No. 21 in the nation on the doubles side as the duo has collected an 8-4 mark and is 1-1 in SEC play through the conference-opening weekend.
Senior Anthony Rossi sits just four wins shy of becoming the 15th player in Kentucky tennis history of obtaining 100-career wins as the captain is currently sitting on 96 after sweeping the weekend in singles. At No. 21 in the nation, Rossi has a 14-1 record this season, including 13 of his 14 wins on court one. Rossi has won nine-consecutive straight-set matches and an impressive 18 of the last 19 sets he has played.
Jomby is the highest-ranked singles player for Kentucky as the junior from Nantes, France sits at No. 18 in the nation. Jomby has played all of his matches on court No. 2 this season and has accumulated a 10-1 record this season with his only loss coming on the road at Illinois. Jomby surpassed the fifty-wins plateau earlier this season as he currently holds a 54-22 overall career record.
Kentucky returns to action Friday in Waco, Texas as it visits No. 38 Baylor before returning to SEC action Sunday in College Station, Texas to take on No. 14 Texas A&M. The match with the Bears will start at 3:30 p.m. ET on Friday.
For continuing coverage of UK men’s tennis, log on to UKathletics.com.
