April 11, 2002

The 16th-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennis team will conclude its Southeastern Conference regular season with an afternoon match-up against No. 54 Vanderbilt on Friday, April 12. The match also serves as the Cats final home appearance of the season and will begin at 2 p.m., which is a change from the originally scheduled 7 p.m. start time.

It will be “Senior Day” for Gustav Pousette and Johan Grunditz as they play their final matches at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. Grunditz and Pousette, co-captains of this year’s team, will be honored for their excellence in singles and doubles action before the beginning of the match.

Grunditz began his career as a Wildcat playing the No. 6 singles court but recently has been seeing action at No. 4 or No. 5. He holds an 84-56 career record in singles. Grunditz missed most of the season due to injury but was recently forced into the line-up after an injury to sophomore Matt Emery. He has stepped up for the Cats with a 3-1 record since entering the No. 5 spot in singles.

With a victory against Vanderbilt, Pousette will tally his 100th career win to go along with 56 career losses. Playing most of his career at No. 3 or No. 4 singles, Pousette started the 2002 dual-match season with a 12 match-winning streak and stands at 16-2, the second most wins by a Wildcat this season. In doubles, Pousette and Grunditz have ended the season with a 3-2 record since becoming a UK tandem at either No. 2 or No. 3, all in SEC action.

Senior Day festivities will begin at 2 p.m. at the Boone Tennis Complex on the UK campus. Admission is free and the match will be played on the outside courts if weather permits.

TENNIS NOTE: Lexington native Matt Emery finished the year ranked second in the nation among players 18 and under according to the recently released standings by the United States Tennis Association. Emery, ending his second season as a Wildcat, stands in Kentucky history with the highest ranking ever achieved by a male junior player in the state.