LEXINGTON, Ky.?The No. 38 University of Kentucky men?s tennis team will play host to an opening weekend of Southeastern Conference action when they welcome No. 37 Auburn on Friday and No. 26 Alabama on Sunday.
Kentucky (6-4, 0-0) enters the weekend?s conference matches winners of four of their last five meetings. They are in the midst of a seven-match home stand that concludes with the Rolling Tide on Sunday.
In their last outing, the Blue and White split a doubleheader with No. 73 Furman and Eastern Kentucky. The Paladins powered their way to a 4-3 win, after winning the doubles point to edge the host team. UK then used a 5-1 decision over the Colonels, behind five singles wins. In the nightcap against Eastern, four of Kentucky?s five singles wins came in straight sets.
Sophomore Bruno Agostinelli leads the team, ranked No. 73 in singles play by the ITA. The Niagara Falls, Canada, native is on a five-match win streak. He began the streak with a defeat of the nation?s top player Ohio State?s Steve Moneke a little over two weeks ago.
Senior Peter Bjork is also in the middle of a five-match swing in which he has defeated all of his opponents in straight sets. Bjork holds an 8-2 record in singles action, tied for the team lead. But, it has been in doubles action where the Stockholm, Sweden, native has been the most impressive. He and his partner junior Will Ward, enter conference action with an unblemished 6-0 doubles clip. The tandem has mainly played in the No. 2 spot in the heart of the Wildcats? lineup.
Junior Marcus Sundh also has enjoyed an impressive start to his junior campaign. He and Bjork are tied for the team-lead with an 8-2 singles record. Sundh led the team in conference wins a season ago, and has put together back-to-back seasons of 20 or more singles wins.
No. 37 Auburn (6-1, 0-0) dropped their first match of the season on Saturday when they fell 4-3, to No. 23 Tulsa. Robbertt Lathouwers leads the team with a perfect 7-0 singles record. He has played primarily at No. 2 singles throughout the season. The Tigers? Alex Schweizer is rated as the ITA?s No. 42 singles player in the nation.
No. 26 Alabama (7-1, 0-0) was last in action on Saturday as well, where they handed Columbia a 7-0 defeat. Billy Mertz paces the team with an 8-0 mark in dual match action. Joseph Jung is ranked No. 56 in the ITA polls in singles play. The Tide also sports a No. 35 doubles duo of Dan Buikema and Mathieu Thibaudeau.
This will be the opening weekend for all Southeastern Conference Action. Alabama will meet Vanderbilt on Friday, while Auburn will travel to the Commodores on Sunday.
First serve with the Tigers is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. EST on Friday. The match with Alabama is slated to begin on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
Complete results and live stats of the day?s coverage can be found at www.ukathletics.com.
