After clinching at least a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season title on Friday at Georgia, No. 5 Kentucky (20-3, 9-0) will play for keeps on Sunday as the Cats take on No. 23 Tennessee. The match is set for 1 p.m. EDT at the Goodfriend Tennis Center in Knoxville. Live scoring updates will be available at ukathletics.com, via utladyvols.com. Kentucky can win the conference title outright with a win over the Lady Vols (17-6, 6-3) or a victory over No. 6 Vanderbilt next Saturday on Senior Day at UK?s Boone Tennis Complex.

Kentucky enters the match with a program-best 14-match win streak. Senior All-American Aibika Kalsarieva has surpassed the team?s winning streak with a 16-match unbeaten streak of her own, which includes 15 wins and an unfinished match against Stanford?s ninth-ranked Amber Liu at the ITA National Team Indoors in February. With her 9-0 league record at No. 1 singles, Kalsarieva has all but locked up the SEC Player of the Year award, which would be another in a series of firsts for the Kentucky women?s tennis program. With one of the youngest rosters in the conference and without a loss in nine SEC matches, UK Coach Mark Guilbeau has emerged as a leading candidate to pick up the SEC Coach of the Year award, regardless of the outcome of the final two matches. Guilbeau earned the nod in 2003 after his Cats totaled a 9-2 record to tie for second in the SEC?s Eastern division.

Junior Danielle Petrisko has turned in a solid conference campaign after sitting out the 2004 dual-match season due to a knee injury. The Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., native has tallied an 8-1 SEC record at the No. 6 singles position to help solidify the bottom half of the Wildcat lineup. Her 6-4, 7-5 win over Georgia?s Jitka Schonfeldova clinched Kentucky?s 4-3 win over the Dogs Friday in Athens. Sophomore Sarah Foster has captured five of her last six matches and totaled a 7-2 mark in SEC play. Sophomore Lara Maurer owns a 6-3 league record after winning five of her last six matches. Sophomore Joelle Schwenk, who provided Kentucky?s third point against Georgia, has won three of her last four matches and improved to 4-4 in conference play with her victory over UGA?s Evgenia Subbotina.

The Lady Vols enter the match fresh off of a convincing 5-2 victory over sixth-ranked Vanderbilt Friday in Knoxville. UT dropped the doubles point but claimed five of six singles matches on its way to the victory. Tennessee features 42nd-ranked Sabita Maharaj, who likely will match up with UK?s Kalsarieva at No. 1 singles. Tennessee sophomore Victoria Jones has totaled an 8-1 record in SEC play. UT senior Ashley Robards, a Henderson, Ky., native, likely will face off against UK?s Lara Maurer at the No. 5 singles position.

Tennessee holds a 15-13 lead in the series between the two schools. Kentucky won the last meeting in Knoxville two seasons ago, but Tennessee returned the favor last season in Lexington.

SEC Standings ? each team has two conference matches remaining

 
Eastern Division SEC Pct. Overall Pct.
 Kentucky#* 9-0 1.000 20-3 .870 Florida 7-2 .778 13-2 .867 Vanderbilt 7-2 .778 17-4 .810 Georgia 7-2 .778 13-4 .765 Tennessee 6-3 .667 17-6 .739 South Carolina 5-4 .555 10-6 .625

# – Clinched share of SEC title; * – Clinched share of SEC Eastern Division

 
Western Division SEC Pct. Overall Pct.
 Mississippi State 5-4 .555 11-4 .733 Ole Miss 4-5 .444 11-7 .611 LSU 2-7 .222 8-9 .471 Alabama 2-7 .222 7-11 .389 Arkansas 0-9 .000 10-9 .526 Auburn 0-9 .000 7-11 .389