March 27, 2003

The 12th-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennis team will waste little time getting back into SEC play after Wednesday’s non-conference doubleheader sweep. The Cats will travel to Fayetteville, Ark. for a Friday afternoon clash against 26th-ranked Arkansas (11-8, 2-5). The match is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. EST at the Arkansas Tennis Facility. The match provides Kentucky an opportunity to redeem themselves after a 4-3 loss in 2002 to the Hogs in Lexington.

The Cats enter weekend play at 14-7 overall and 4-2 in the SEC, good for a second-place tie with Vanderbilt in the SEC’s Eastern Division. After splitting a pair of matches at Ole Miss and Mississippi State last weekend, the Cats made short work of Wright State and Eastern Kentucky Wednesday at UK’s Boone Tennis Complex.

Juniors Karim Benmansour and Rahim Esmail enter this weekend’s matches on a positive note after winning three consecutive singles matches, apiece. In doubles, Esmail has teamed with sophomore Jesse Witten to take three consecutive doubles matches.

Kentucky’s battle with Arkansas will mark the 15th time this season the Cats have faced an opponent featured in the Omni Hotels/ITA collegiate tennis rankings of the top-75 teams in the nation. Each of the Cats’ seven wins over ranked opponents have come against schools currently in the ITA top 50, including a win earlier this month over No. 18 South Carolina and two victories this season over No. 19 Georgia.

Each of the Cats’ seven losses on the season have come against opponents currently ranked in the ITA top 15. Five of those losses have come against schools in the ITA top five.