March 13, 2003

The ninth-ranked Kentucky men’s tennis team (10-5, 2-0) will wrap up its two-match stint in the Sunshine State Friday when the Wildcats take on second-ranked Florida (13-2, 4-0) at 5 p.m. in Gainesville. The match marks the Cats’ first conference match since a 4-3 win over Georgia on March 2.

Florida is coached by former UK tennis standout Andy Jackson, who lettered three times under Coach Dennis Emery. In his second year at the helm of the Gators, Jackson led his team to an upset of then top-ranked UCLA in last month’s National Indoors in Louisville. Emery speaks highly of the 1984 UK graduate.

“Andy is one of the really great coaches in collegiate tennis right now. He is a perfect fit for Florida,” Emery said.

The Gators feature fourth-ranked Janne Holmia and No. 35 Hamid Mirzadeh. Kentucky counters with four ITA-ranked student-athletes in sophomore Jesse Witten at No. 11, junior Karim Benmansour at No. 70, junior Rahim Esmail at No. 102 and freshman Alex Hume, who made his first appearance in the ITA rankings this week at No. 109.

The Cats and Gators last met on March 15, 2002 as Kentucky hammered out a 4-3 victory over Florida. For UK to repeat last season’s victory, Emery said the Cats must be ready to bring their best efforts.

“Florida is a great college team. This is a very deep and balanced squad. There aren’t any holes in the Florida lineup, so this will be a big challenge for us Friday,” Emery said.