April 30, 2003

The 12th-ranked University of Kentucky women’s tennis team learned on Wednesday it will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship. UK will host the teams from Hampton, Miami (FL) and Purdue. The Cats earned the country’s No. 9 seed and will face the Hampton Lady Pirates in the first round. Should Kentucky defeat Hampton, it would face the winner of the Miami (FL) versus Purdue match.

This is the second consecutive year UK was selected to host one of the NCAA’s 16 regionals. Last year, the Cats defeated Boston College and Georgia Tech on the way to their first-ever berth in the round of 16.

“We’re excited about hosting,” senior co-captain Amy Trefethen said. “This gives our team a great opportunity to have some success and move on into the later rounds of the tournament.”

The Lady Pirates, who are led by Alena Mitackova, finished the season with a 19-3 overall record and went undefeated in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference at 11-0, on the way to winning the MEAC Tournament Championship. The Cats are 21-7 and 9-2 in the Southeastern Conference. They were defeated in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament by Georgia.

“I’m really happy for our program and our players,” Coach Mark Guilbeau said. “I’m especially happy for our seniors. This is a great tribute to them that they get to begin their last NCAA Tournament playing at home.

“Being seeded No. 9 is incredible. Seedings don’t get you through the tournament, but it shows a great deal of respect for our program and what we’ve been able to accomplish. I think the NCAA did a great job with the brackets. We’ve got our work cut out for us. We’re hosting a very strong region, but we’ll be ready.”

The first round is scheduled to begin on Saturday, May 10, but due to the fact UK’s men’s team also is hosting its region, the women will most likely play on Friday, May 9. Match times will be announced at a later date.