LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Twelve teams that were part of the 2007 NCAA Tournament field and 13 home matches highlight the 2008 University of Kentucky women?s tennis dual-match schedule, announced Friday by third-year head coach Carlos Drada.

The Wildcats finished the 2007 slate with a 19-8 record, marking the fifth consecutive season that UK has recorded 19 or more wins. Kentucky, which finished the season ranked 33rd in the country, was among the nation?s top 35 the entire season.

UK will have to compensate for the loss of All-America doubles duo Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk, but the Wildcats return four letterwinners from a year ago. Sophomore Sarah Woestmann (Wallenhoerst, Germany) posted a squad-best 21-4 record in singles action last season and was 16-8 in doubles action, pairing with several partners throughout the campaign. Junior Carolina Escamilla (Medellin, Columbia) was a team-best 21-9 in doubles play last year and was ranked for much of the early part of the season as Coventry?s partner.

Kentucky also brings in three dynamic freshmen in Megan Broderick (Tampa, Fla.), Lauren Meier (Woodstock, Ga.) and Alaina Trgovich (Munster, Ind.). Meier won the singles title at the Kitty Harrison Invitational this past November. She knocked off Miami?s Romy Farah, 6-4, 6-2, in the tournament?s final match.

The Cats have a strong home slate this season at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center. Of the 13 teams coming to Lexington during the regular season, four were among the nation?s top 30 last season and eight were in the top 75, as determined by the FILA/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. In total, Kentucky will face 15 teams that were ranked in last season?s final top 75 poll.

The Wildcats open their 2008 slate with four consecutive home matches, including a season-opening doubleheader against Marshall [16-12, No. 65] and Winthrop [10-15] on Jan. 19. Following the initial matches, the Cats have seven days off before facing Big 10 Conference member Michigan [17-8; NCAA Second Round, No. 22] on Jan. 27 and intra-state rival Louisville [12-13, No. 74] on Jan. 30.

Kentucky hits the road for the first time on Feb. 2 when it travels to Bloomington, Ind., to try to avenge last season?s loss to the Indiana Hoosiers [21-7, NCAA Second Round, No. 24]. The Wildcats host a doubleheader against a pair of schools from the Volunteer State on Feb. 9, when they face Middle Tennessee State [7-13] and East Tennessee State [17-10]. UK then has a pair of matches on the road against Atlantic Coast Conference foes Clemson [22-5, NCAA Round of 16, No. 11] and defending national champion Georgia Tech [29-4, NCAA Champion, No. 1] on back-to-back days (Feb. 16 and 17).

The Cats close out the non-conference slate with home matches against Big 12 Conference member Kansas [4-17] on Feb. 23 and BIG EAST foe South Florida [16-8, NCAA Second Round, No. 28].

Kentucky opens the Southeastern Conference slate by trying to avenge a 4-3 loss to South Carolina suffered last season in Columbia. The Cats and Gamecocks [16-7, NCAA First Round, No. 32] meet on Feb. 29 in the Palmetto State. UK then travels to Gainesville, Fla., to meet 2007 SEC regular-season co-champion Florida [24-3, NCAA Quarterfinals, No. 6] on March 2.

The Wildcats host three consecutive SEC matches when they meet LSU [16-10, NCAA First Round, No. 36] on March 7, Arkansas [11-10, No. 58] on March 9 and Alabama [5-16] on March 21.

Kentucky hits the road again on March 23 when it travels to Auburn, Ala., to face the Auburn Tigers [14-10, NCAA Second Round, No. 29]. The Cats then do a tour of the Magnolia State by facing Mississippi State [5-14] on March 28 and Ole Miss [5-18] on March 30.

UK returns home to play host to defending SEC Tournament Champion Georgia [24-2, NCAA Quarterfinals, No. 4] on April 4 before closing out the regular-season home schedule on April 6 vs. Tennessee [14-11, NCAA Second Round, No. 23]. The Wildcats cap off the regular season with a trip to Nashville on April 12 to face Vanderbilt [19-9, NCAA Round of 16, No. 16].

The annual SEC Tournament takes place in Auburn, Ala., April 17-20. NCAA play begins with first and second rounds on campus sites May 9-10, with the NCAA Championships taking place May 15-26 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.

For all of the latest information on Kentucky Tennis, please log on to ukathletics.com.

 2008 Kentucky Women?s Tennis Schedule Key = [2007 Final Record; NCAA Finish; Final FILA/ITA Tennis Ranking] January Jan. 19 MARSHALL Lexington, Ky. 12 p.m. [16-12, No. 65] Jan. 19 WINTHROP Lexington, Ky. 6 p.m. [10-15] Jan. 27 MICHIGAN Lexington, Ky. 12 p.m. [17-8, NCAA Second Round, No. 22] Jan. 30 LOUISVILLE Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m. [12-13, No. 74] February Feb. 2 at Indiana Bloomington, Ind. 11 a.m. [21-7, NCAA Second Round, No. 24] Feb. 9 MTSU Lexington, Ky. 11 a.m. [7-13] Feb. 9 ETSU Lexington, Ky. 5 p.m. [17-10] Feb. 16 at Clemson Clemson, S.C. TBA [22-5, NCAA Round of 16, No. 11] Feb. 17 at Georgia Tech Atlanta, Ga. 12 p.m. [29-4, NCAA Champion, No. 1] Feb. 23 KANSAS Lexington, Ky. 11 a.m. [4-17] Feb. 24 SOUTH FLORIDA Lexington, Ky. 11 a.m. [16-8, NCAA Second Round, No. 28] Feb. 29 *at So. Carolina Columbia, S.C. 2 p.m. [16-7, NCAA First Round, No. 32] March March 2 *at Florida Gainesville, Fla. 12 p.m. [24-3, NCAA Quarterfinals, No. 6] March 7 *LSU Lexington, Ky. 3 p.m. [16-10, No. 36, NCAA First Round] March 9 *ARKANSAS Lexington, Ky. 12 p.m. [11-10, No. 58] March 21 *ALABAMA Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m. [5-16] March 23 *at Auburn Auburn, Ala. 12 p.m. [14-10, NCAA Second Round, No. 29] March 28 *at Miss. State Starkville, Miss. 2 p.m. [5-14] March 30 *at Ole Miss Oxford, Miss. 12 p.m. [5-18] April April 4 *GEORGIA Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m. [24-2, NCAA Quarterfinals, No. 4] April 6 *TENNESSEE Lexington, Ky. 12 p.m. [14-11, NCAA Second Round, No. 23] April 12 *at Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 12 p.m. [19-9, NCAA Round of 16, No. 16] April 17-20 at SEC Tournament Auburn, Ala. TBA