UK junior Jesse Witten will open the 2004 NCAA Men?s Singles Championships against a familiar opponent: a Stanford sophomore who eliminated him from the same event a year ago. The sixth-seeded Witten seeks retribution Wednesday against the Cardinal?s 65th-ranked K.C. Corkery at the Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. The match is slated for 10:30 a.m. CDT.

Witten, now a three-time All-American by way of his singles seeding, made the most of his first appearance at the NCAA Championships two seasons ago at Texas A&M by making a memorable run to the singles title match, where he dropped a straight-set decision to Georgia?s Matias Boeker. A season ago at Georgia, Witten scored a straight-set victory over Ohio State?s Jeremy Wurtzman before being eliminated by Corkery in straight sets.

Witten enters the match at 33-9 on the season, while Corkery comes in at 15-14 with victories over two top-25 opponents. Witten and senior Rahim Esmail begin doubles competition Thursday afternoon.