May 15, 2002
Palo Alto, Calif. – The 17th-ranked University of Kentucky women’s tennis team is still riding last weekend’s high after advancing to its first-ever NCAA Sweet 16. The Cats also refuse to be intimidated by the scarlet and white clad opponent who will be across the net from them on Thursday, May 16. UK will face the tall order of squaring off against the defending national champion Stanford Cardinal at 8 a.m. on Thursday at the Taube Tennis Center on Stanford’s campus.
After two rounds of play in the 2002 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships, only 16 teams still stand. The remaining teams travel to Palo Alto, Calif., where the final four rounds of competition will be completed. The Wildcats, a 14-seed, battle third-seeded Stanford in the opening match of the third round.
The Cats will face the perennial power on their home courts and, although the odds may seem to be stacked against them, they view the match as an opportunity.
“It is a great feeling to make history for UK women’s tennis,” junior Leigh Bradwell said. “No one is more excited to be out here than we are. The atmosphere is unbelievable and we are really looking forward to playing a great match against Stanford and capitalizing on the opportunities at hand.”
The Wildcats are one of only two squads making an appearance in the round of 16 that failed to do so in 2001. UK Coach Mark Guilbeau hopes that the high energy he has seen from the team in practice will translate into a winning performance over Stanford.
“This team is completely excited and ready to play Stanford in the round of 16,” Guilbeau said. “Our team feels confident that we are playing with the highest level of enthusiasm and desire of any team in the nation right now. It is certainly going to be a tough task to defeat Stanford, but we intend to play to win. Win or lose, I am so proud of the commitment this group of young ladies has made toward achieving their goals and becoming the best they can be.”
Scoring updates for the UK/Stanford match will be available on www.gostanford.com.
