April 21, 1999

LEXINGTON, Kty.The 20th-ranked University of Kentucky women’s tennis team returns to thecourt on Thursday for a rematch of last Sunday’s regular-season finale,facing the Auburn Tigers in opening-round action at the SEC Championshipsin Baton Rouge, La.

On Sunday, the University of Kentucky women’s tennis team celebratedSenior Day at the Boone Tennis Center by crushing Auburn 5-1. The win wasUK’s third straight over Auburn, with the Cats last falling to the Tigersin 1996.

The Cats (13-8, 6-5 SEC) finished the regular season in a tie with SouthCarolina and Vanderbilt for the fourth-best record in the SEC. Whiletiebreakers dropped the Cats to a No. 6 seed in SEC tournament, the mark isstill UK’s best conference finish since 1994.

Auburn (10-10, 2-8 SEC) enters the tournament on a four-match losingstreak, dropping matches to Arkansas, Ole Miss, Georgia and Kentucky toclose out the season.

UK picked up a first-round win over LSU in the 1998 SEC Tournament beforefalling to eventual national champion Florida in round two.

UK and Auburn are scheduled to hit the courts at 3 p.m.