April 19, 2000

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team has secured a No. 7 seed in the 2000 Southeastern Conference Men’s Tennis Tournament to begin on Thursday. The Cats will take on the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks on April 20 at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in Starkville, Miss. If the Cats defeat Arkansas, they will play No. 2 Florida at 8 a.m. on April 21.

Earlier this season, the Cats routed the Razorbacks, 5-2. In that match, the Cats won the doubles point and four of the six singles matches.

This year, the Cats faced a difficult season, playing 17 ranked opponents and going 8-9 against those teams. The team is currently ranked No. 39 nationally, according to the Wingspan.com rankings released on April 19. The rankings also place senior Carlos Drada at No. 25 and senior Johan Hesoun at No. 82 in singles and the doubles team of Hesoun and sophomore Gustav Pousette at No. 29.

The Cats have seen solid action from Pousette, going 20-7 (8-3 SEC) in singles action during the spring. Pousette’s most recent victory was over Guillaume Legat of South Carolina, ranked 49th nationally, 7-5, 6-2, on April 16. Also giving an impressive performance this season has been Edo Bawono, who posted a 16-7 (6-3 SEC) singles record. The unranked Bawono defeated No. 90 Jerome Le Belicard of Mississippi State, 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-2 on April 8.

In the tournament’s 10-year history, Kentucky has accumulated a 7-9 record. The Cats lone tournament title came in 1992, when they defeated LSU, 5-2.