LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The No. 50 University of Kentucky men?s tennis team finishes its five-match home stand this weekend at Boone Tennis Complex. The Cats host Murray State Thursday at 3:00 p.m. ET. Later UK welcomes No. 38 Mississippi State and No. 7 Ole Miss to Lexington. The first serve against the Bulldogs Friday is set for 5:00 p.m. while the Sunday match against the Rebels begins at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Kentucky (8-9 overall, 2-4 SEC) returns to action after big wins over No. 25 Auburn and No. 27 Notre Dame earlier in the week. A key component to the victories was doubles play. The Cats won two out of three matches on the wide courts to clinch the pivotal doubles point in each victory. Freshman Alberto Gonzalez sealed the victory for the Cats at No. 5 singles in both contests. At No. 1 singles, No. 48 Bruno Agostinelli defeated his third-straight ranked opponent Tuesday against the Irish.
The Thursday match with Murray State is a re-scheduled meeting after the contest was postponed Feb. 13 due to inclement weather and poor travel conditions. The Racers (1-6) are coming off their first win of the season Tuesday against Tennessee State on their home courts; giving head coach Mel Purcell his 100th career victory. Murray State and Kentucky have shared one common opponent this season, each losing to No. 12 Tennessee.
Mississippi State (8-6, 2-4) comes to town Friday after a 5-2 road loss to No. 8 Florida. Senior Ivan Bjelica, ranked 37th nationally, upset third-ranked Greg Ouellette of Florida last weekend. The win is his third top-10 defeat this spring to improve to 12-5 this season. Philippe Frayssinoux is the only other Bulldog ranked occupying the No. 50 slot. The Bulldogs have defeated the same foes in conference as the Wildcats: South Carolina and Auburn.
Seventh-ranked Ole Miss (13-4, 4-2) enters the weekend after beating South Carolina 4-0 on the road and losing to No. 8 Florida at home last week. Four Rebels are nationally ranked in singles play: Erling Tveit (13th), Matthias Wellermann (16th), Robbye Poole (32nd) and Bram tenBerge (105th). Tveit is also ranked sixth in doubles with partner Jonas Berg while Wellerman and tenBerge stand 15th in the country as a tandem. The Rebels other three losses this season are at the hands of the top-three teams in the country: Virginia, Ohio State and Georgia.
Weather-permitting, matches may be played outdoors at Boone Tennis Complex. Live stats will be available for the SEC contests. A full recap of each match will be available on UKathletics.com.
