Setting the Scene
Lexington, Ky. ?The No. 20 Kentucky men?s tennis team (12-4, 5-1 SEC) takes to the road this weekend for two of its toughest matches against No. 1 Georgia and No. 42 Tennessee. UK enters the weekend?s matches looking to get back on the winning track after Ole Miss snapped the Cats? eight-match winning streak on Sunday. The match against the top-ranked Bulldogs is slated to begin Friday at 5 p.m. EST in Athens, Ga. The Cats will then travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to battle the Volunteers at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday. Fans can check ukathletics.com for live stats and recaps throughout the weekend.
Scouting the Opponents
Georgia enters Friday?s match with a perfect 17-0 (6-0 SEC) record. Georgia has defeated some of the nation?s top teams including No. 9 UCLA, No. 5 Illinois and No. 2 Pepperdine consecutively to win the ITA National Team Indoor Championships this past February in Seattle, Wash. The Dawgs currently have five ranked singles players including the nation?s No. 1 player in junior John Isner. Isner is 31-2 in singles action and has a 16-4 doubles record when he teams with Antonio Ruiz. The duo is the defending NCAA Doubles Champions. UGA’s other two doubles teams are currently ranked No. 11 (Colin Purcell and Strahinja Bobusic) and No. 60 (Matic Omerzel and Luis Flores).
Tennessee is currently on a two-match losing skid after dropping contests at Auburn and Alabama last weekend. The Vols are 8-6 (2-4) on the season. UT?s two conference wins came against No. 12 Florida and No. 56 South Carolina earlier this season.
Last Time Out
The Cats are coming off a weekend where they split home contests against SEC foes. On Friday, UK came back from a 3-1 deficit for the third straight match to defeat No. 57 Mississippi State at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center. Junior Greg Johnstone recorded his first SEC win to clinch the match against MSU. The victory extended UK?s winning streak to a season-best eight matches.
The Cats? winning streak was then snapped on Sunday against No. 10 Ole Miss. The Rebels defeated UK 6-1 for their seventh straight win. Sophomore Marcus Sundh extended his winning streak to nine matches by beating No. 110 Robbye Poole in straight sets. Sundh is now second on the team in wins with 24.
Cats in the Rankings
Kentucky enters this weekend?s matches ranked 20th. All 12 of the teams in the SEC are ranked in the top-75. UK brings three ranked players into this weekend?s matches. UK?s highest ranked player is senior Alex Hume at No. 46. Hume leads the team with 25 victories this season. Ranked No. 54 is freshman Bruno Agostinelli. Agostinelli is third on the team with 23 wins. Rounding out the Cats? ranked players is No. 87 senior Nate Emge.
History
Georgia owns the 35-6 advantage in the series. Last season, the Cats fell 4-3 to the Bulldogs in Lexington, Ky. In the series with UT, the Vols hold the 53-40 edge. Last season, UK fell 5-2 in a match at home against the Vols. Since 2001, UK has won four out of the last six match ups against Tennessee.
Next on Tap
The Cats return home on April 4 for a doubleheader against intrastate rivals Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State. UK?s next SEC match is on April 7 at No. 56 South Carolina.
