Setting the Scene
LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The No. 20 Kentucky women?s tennis team (17-9, 8-3 SEC) travels to compete in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th straight season beginning Friday at 1:30 p.m. EDT in Clemson, S.C., against No. 64 Furman. The Wildcats are coming off a strong Southeastern Conference Tournament run where they reached the finals for the second straight season. The Cats will be looking to score a victory in the opening round and advance to face the winner of the match between Siena and 15th-seeded Clemson on Saturday at 11 a.m. EDT. Fans can check ukathletics.com for live stats and recaps throughout UK?s tournament run.
Scouting the Possible Opponents
Furman enters the tournament with a 19-6 record. The Paladins are looking to continue to build on the momentum they gained from winning their third straight Southern Conference Tournament championship. Furman is 0-3 this season against SEC teams with losses against Alabama, Florida and South Carolina.
A victory in the first round would secure a second-round match between either Siena or Clemson. Siena (14-7) is making it?s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, earning an automatic bid for winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Clemson (16-7) is in the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight season and has reached the Final Four the past two seasons. 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 it?s first-ever NCAA quarterfinals.
2006 SEC Tournament Recap
Despite the loss of key players from the 2005 squad, the Cats returned to the finals of the SEC tournament for the second consecutive season. As the No. 3 seed, UK received a bye and faced Alabama in the second round. UK advanced to the SEC semifinals by upending the Tide 4-1 at Florida?s Ring Tennis complex. Kentucky got on the board early winning the doubles point and then took three out of four singles matches to clinch the match. In the semifinals, UK overcame second-seeded Vandy, who beat the Cats in the two school’s final regular season contest, 4-2 to move on to the finals. Once again UK claimed the doubles point and took three out of five singles matches. The Cats? tournament run ended in the finals where the Gators blanked UK 4-0 on their home court to win the SEC tournament title.
Cats in the Rankings
Kentucky enters the NCAA Tournament ranked 20th. Ten of the 12 Southeastern Conference teams are now ranked in the top 60.
Junior Kim Coventry is currently the Wildcats? lone ranked singles player at No. 49. The Melbourne, Australia, native has recorded 25 wins on the season to lead the team. Coventry also teams with freshman Carolina Escamilla to be the 27th-ranked doubles tandem.
2005 NCAA Tournament Recap
The 2005 season will go down as one of the best in the history of the UK women?s tennis program. The Wildcats capped their season by winning three straight matches to reach the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in the program?s history. Kentucky opened the tournament by blanking No. 69 Marshall 4-0. The Cats jumped ahead by taking the doubles point before winning three straight singles matches to advance to a second-round contest vs. No. 28 Wake Forest. UK continued its strong play beating the Demon Deacons 4-2. The Cats once again captured the doubles point before winning three singles matches. In the round of 16, UK took down 16th-ranked Tulane 4-1. Kentucky?s tournament run ended against No. 10 Texas in the quarterfinals with a 4-2 loss.
Next on Tap
The Cats will return to action on May 18-22 to compete for the Women?s NCAA Team Championship if they are able to advance from the Clemson regional. The final four rounds of the tournament will be played at Stanford?s Taube Tennis Center. Following the conclusion of the team championship, Coventry will compete for the national singles titles as well as team with Escamilla in the 32-team doubles field in Palo Alto, Calif.
