No. 5 Kentucky (19-3, 8-0) looks to maintain its grip on the Southeastern Conference lead Friday when it heads to Athens, Ga., to meet fourth-ranked Georgia (13-3, 7-1) Friday at UGA?s Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The match is set for 2 p.m. EDT, and live scoring updates will be available at ukathletics.com, via georgiadogs.com.
UK will put its 15-match win streak and one-game SEC lead over Georgia and Vanderbilt on the line in an environment that has been less than friendly to the Wildcats. Kentucky?s most recent victories on Georgia?s home courts came in the 1980s, when the Cats put together a stretch of three road wins against the Dogs in four seasons. Kentucky?s last victory at the Magill Tennis Complex came in 1988, when the Cats dealt the Dogs a 5-4 defeat.
Its 17-year drought in Athens notwithstanding, Kentucky heads to Georgia with a team as formidable as the Wildcat squads in the 1980s that managed to knock off the Dogs. The 2005 Kentucky squad twice has enjoyed a No. 3 ranking, the highest ranking in the history of the program. Senior All-American Aibika Kalsarieva ascended to No. 5 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) singles rankings released this week, marking the highest ranking ever awarded to a Kentucky women?s tennis player. Kentucky is enjoying its best-ever start in conference play at 8-0 and is the only remaining unbeaten team in SEC play.
The 2005 Kentucky squad also is the first UK women?s tennis squad to have three players in the ITA top-50 singles rankings and two doubles pairs featured in the top-20 of the ITA doubles rankings at the same time. Earlier this season, Kentucky made its first-ever appearance in the finals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, an event considered the indoor equivalent of the NCAA outdoor championships held every May. UK also scored its first victory in 27 attempts over Florida, as the Cats defeated the Gators by a 5-2 count in Lexington.
The fifth-ranked Kalsarieva is the only remaining unbeaten player in league play. With her 8-0 record at No. 1 singles, the native of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan has emerged as a leading candidate to become UK?s first SEC Player of the Year. Kalsarieva figures to meet Georgia?s seventh-ranked Shadisha Robinson on Friday. In their only meeting, Kalsarieva rallied from a one-set deficit and saved match points to defeat Robinson in the second round of the NCAA Singles Championships last spring at Georgia. Robinson boasts three victories over top-15 opponents this season, including a win over Northwestern?s third-ranked Audra Cohen, who defeated Kalsarieva earlier this season.
Georgia also features 26th-ranked sophomore Natalie Frazier. Robinson teams with freshman Caroline Basu to form the nation?s third-ranked doubles tandem. Kalsarieva joins with sophomore Sarah Foster to solidify the ITA?s seventh-ranked doubles tandem, and UK sophomores Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk own a No. 14 doubles ranking. Georgia has captured the doubles point in 15 of its 16 matches, though Kentucky owns an incredible 19-2 mark in league doubles matches.
Coventry has enjoyed a smooth transition to the No. 2-singles position, posting a 5-1 mark in SEC play. Foster has won 11 of her last 13 singles matches and owns a 6-2 conference record. Junior Danielle Petrisko has won six straight matches and holds a 7-1 SEC record. Sophomore Lara Maurer has claimed five consecutive matches and comes in at 6-2 in league play. Schwenk has won two of her last three matches at No. 4 singles.
Georgia and Kentucky split a pair of matches a season ago. UGA scored a 6-1 regular-season victory in Lexington, but Kentucky eliminated the third-ranked Dogs from the 2004 SEC Tournament, defeating Georgia by a 4-1 margin in the quarterfinals. A Wildcat victory in Athens would move Kentucky one step closer toward its first SEC title with only a road match at Tennessee and a Senior-Day battle against No. 6 Vanderbilt remaining.
SEC Standings ? each team has three conference matches remaining
Eastern Division SEC Overall Kentucky 8-0 19-3 Vanderbilt 7-1 17-3 Georgia 7-1 13-3 Florida 6-2 12-2 Tennessee 5-3 16-6 South Carolina 4-4 9-6
Western Division SEC Overall Mississippi State 5-3 11-3 Ole Miss 4-4 11-6 LSU 1-7 7-9 Alabama 1-7 6-11 Arkansas 0-8 10-8 Auburn 0-8 7-10
Friday?s SEC Matches
Arkansas at Alabama
LSU at Auburn
Mississippi State at Florida
Kentucky at Georgia
Vanderbilt at Tennessee
Ole Miss at South Carolina
