Setting the Scene
LEXINGTON, Ky. ?The No. 21 Kentucky men?s tennis team (15-5, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) travels to Columbia, S.C., on Friday to face No. 43 South Carolina at 2 p.m. ET. Kentucky had a busy Tuesday, earning two wins over intrastate rivals Morehead State 4-3 and Eastern Kentucky 5-0. The Wildcats are currently sitting in second place in the SEC Eastern Division and are tied for second overall with LSU and Ole Miss. Kentucky returns home on Sunday to face No. 15 Florida. The match is set to start at 1 p.m. ET.
Scouting the Opponents
South Carolina (11-11, 3-6 SEC) enters Friday?s match against Kentucky having won two consecutive matches. South Carolina picked up its first weekend sweep of SEC opponents last weekend, beating then-No. 48 Auburn 4-3, on March 31 and coming back from a 3-0 deficit to upset 40th-ranked Alabama by the same margin two days later.
Florida (11-6, 5-3 SEC) is coming off a 4-3 conference victory over Auburn on Sunday. The Gators currently have three players ranked in the ITA top-65; No. 34 Greg Ouellette, No. 48 Nestor Briceno, and No. 65 Vladimir Obradovic. The Gators will travel to Nashville, Tenn., to face Vanderbilt on Friday before heading to Lexington.
Last Time Out
The Wildcats are coming off a Tuesday doubleheader sweep of Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State. The Wildcats started their winning ways when freshman Kenny Hodge soundly beat EKU?s Billy Pfaffinger 6-4, 6-0, at the No. 5 spot. Sophomore Marcus Sundh notched his 26th victory by beating EKU?s Lars Grazki 6-1, 6-3, at the No. 1 singles spot. UK went up 4-0 when freshmen Greg Anderson and Kyle Virgin recorded victories at the No. 3 and 4 spots in the lineup. Anderson, a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, swept the Colonels? Fred Gonclaves 6-2, 6-1. Virgin clinched the match by beating EKU?s Mario Simic 6-4, 6-2. The final Cat to record a win was junior Greg Johnstone, who beat EKU?s Vadzim Ivanis 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, at the No. 2 spot.
Kentucky began singles action against MSU winning four out of six contests. UK picked up its first victory at the No. 6 spot where junior Greg Johnstone defeated former MSU teammate Martin Dorcich 6-0, 6-0. Johnstone went 25-1 last season for Morehead State and was named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year.
Freshman Greg Anderson cruised at the No. 3 spot defeating MSU?s Pete Taylor 6-0, 6-1. At the No. 1 spot, sophomore Marcus Sundh surpassed senior Alex Hume for the team lead in wins by recording his 27th in a 6-2, 6-3, victory over the Eagles? Jacob McLeod. Clinching the match for Kentucky was freshman Kenny Hodge who dispatched MSU?s Louis Orieux 6-1, 6-3, at the No. 4 position.
Cats in the Rankings
Kentucky enters this weekend?s matches ranked No. 21. Each of the 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. 56. Ranked No. 58 is freshman Bruno Agostinelli. Rounding out the Cats? ranked players is No. 115 senior Nate Emge.
History
Kentucky earned a 5-2 victory over the Gamecocks last season. Kentucky owns an 18-9 all-time series advantage against South Carolina.
Florida swept the Wildcats in 2005 winning 5-2 in the regular season and then notching a 4-2 victory in the SEC Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn. The Gators lead the all-time series with Kentucky 12-27.
Next on Tap
Kentucky wraps up the regular season by hosting Illinois (13-5, 3-1 Big Ten) and Vanderbilt (7-9. 2-6 SEC). The Wildcats host the Illini on April 12 at 5 p.m. ET and finish up the regular season against the Commodores on April 15 at 1 p.m. ET.
