The 17th-ranked Kentucky men (15-7, 5-3) return to the hard courts Saturday afternoon when the Cats play host to No. 24 Vanderbilt (13-8, 5-4). The match is set for 1 p.m. EDT at UK?s Boone Tennis Complex. Live scoring will be available at www.ukathletics.com. Saturday is ?UK Student Day? at the Boone Tennis Complex. Select UK students will receive prizes during the match, and all students in attendance will receive a coupon for a free entr?e at Chipotle. Admission is free for all attendees.

The Cats are coming off of a heart-breaking 4-3 loss to No. 1 Illinois Wednesday in Lexington. A defeat of the Fighting Illini would have ended Illinois? NCAA-record 50-match win streak. Kentucky looks to rebound in its return to conference play this weekend, though the Cats face a difficult challenge in the Commodores, who lost to Illinois in the 2003 NCAA Championship match. Vanderbilt features four student-athletes ranked in the ITA top 125: No. 24 Chad Harris, No. 64 Matt Lockin, No. 65 Scott Brown and No. 76 Zach Dailey. Brown and Harris combine to form the ITA?s 46th-ranked doubles tandem.

Kentucky junior Jesse Witten, the ITA?s eighth-ranked men?s singles player, is 18-2 in dual-match play and would earn his 30th victory of the season with a win Saturday. Witten is fresh off of a win over Illinois? Brian Wilson, the second-ranked player in the country. Junior Tigran Martirosyan, the ITA?s 103rd-ranked student-athlete, enters the match with victories in 11 of his last 12 outings. Witten and senior Rahim Esmail, who are 7-1 in SEC doubles competition, come in at No. 14 in the ITA doubles rankings.

Vanderbilt scored a 6-1 victory in the schools? 2003 regular-season match in Nashville.