LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The NCAA announced this season?s field of 64 for the men?s and women?s tennis tournaments Wednesday sending both Kentucky teams to the East Coast for action beginning May 12. The 33rd-ranked men?s team will journey to Charlottesville, Va., to take on No. 28 Wake Forest while the 20th-ranked Lady Wildcats will travel to Clemson, S.C., to take on No. 64 Furman.
The Kentucky men?s team (16-9, 7-4 SEC) will be making its 13th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance beginning with the school?s first-ever match up against Wake Forest on May 13, at 1 p.m. EDT. The Demon Deacons finished the season 15-10 with a 6-5 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Deacons are led in singles action by 18th-ranked Todd Paul who is 26-12 on the season.
?The committee this year did a really good job of spreading the Southeastern Conference schools out across different regions,? head coach Dennis Emery said. ?It?s really exciting to compete against a team that we haven?t played during the regular season. This is really everybody?s favorite time of year in college tennis. It?s a time when dreams can be fulfilled.?
The winner of the UK vs. WFU contest will take on whoever advances in the first round match up between 8th-seeded Virginia and Army. The Cats have reached the Round of 32 the last three seasons.
The 20th-ranked women?s tennis team (17-9, 8-3 SEC) will also to be traveling to ACC country in the first round for its 10th straight tournament appearance. The Cats will take on the Furman Paladins (19-6) who won the Southern Conference tournament for the third straight season. The Cats potentially could face No. 15 Clemson, a 2004 and 2005 national semifinalist, in the second round. The Tigers are slated to take on Siena in the first round. Last season, UK upset then No. 3 Clemson at the ITA National Indoor Championships. The victory was one of many highlights in the 2005 season that ended with Kentucky reaching the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in school history.
?We are excited to play in Clemson next weekend,? head coach Carlos Drada said. ?We have our most important match of the season coming up. We will try to approach the first round (of the NCAA Tournament) with a whole lot of focus and the same perseverance that we have played with throughout season. Furman is a strong opponent and we will work hard in preparing to face them.?
Fans can check ukathletics.com for the latest UK tennis information throughout the postseason.
