March 28, 2002

The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team, recently ranked seventh in the Omni Hotel Collegiate Rankings released on Wednesday, March 27, prepare for a weekend of Southeastern Conference action at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on the UK campus.

Kentucky first plays host to the No. 25 Arkansas Razorbacks in an important SEC match on Friday, March 29, with the exact starting time to be announced tommorrow morning. The match was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. but may be played earlier depending on weather conditions. Check the official website of UK athletics, www.ukathletics.com, for the time or call 859-257-3838. The Cats will close out their last complete SEC weekend with a 2 p.m. match against the No. 42 LSU Tigers on Sunday, March 31.

The Cats are currently tied for third in the SEC, falling behind top-ranked Georgia and No. 6 Ole Miss, standing at 4-2 in the SEC and 13-5 in the season. Leading the way for the Cats is freshman Jesse Witten who is currently ranked No. 5 in the country with a 10-5 dual-match record. Sophomore Karim Benmansour and freshman Evan Austin follow Witten, while seniors Gustav Pousette and Johan Grunditz along with sophomore Rahim Esmail round out the Cats line-up. Pousette and Esmail are undefeated in the dual-match season with Pousette at 13-0 and Esmail at 17-0, winning —- of his 17 matches in straight set victories.

Admission is free and matches will be played outside, weather permitting.

Current Omni Hotel Collegiate National Rankings(Released March 27, 2002)1. Univ. of Georgia *2. UCLA3. Univ. of Illinois4. Univ. of Notre Dame5. Stanford Univ.6. Ole Miss *7.  Univ. of Kentucky8. Univ. of Texas (at Austin)9. Univ. of Florida *10. Texas A & M Univ.

* SEC opponent