LEXINGTON, Ky. ? When the No. 40 University of Kentucky men?s tennis team faces No. 31 Vanderbilt University for its final regular-season match at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex Saturday at 1:00 p.m. ET, it will mark the end of senior captain Marcus Sundh?s impressive career as a Wildcat.
Sundh has been the captain of the Cats each of the last two seasons. A member of two NCAA tournament teams, the native of Stockholm, Sweden, has posted four seasons with 16 or more singles wins during his time in Lexington. Sundh had a strong fall campaign in 2007, reaching the main draw singles semifinals of the Fluitt Invitational and advanced to the round of 16 in both singles and doubles at the Wilson/ITA Southeast Regional. The versatile senior started the dual match season at the No. 4 singles slot but stepped into the role at the No. 3 spot without skipping a beat. Sundh also played at the No. 2 and 3 doubles positions this year with two different partners, while compiling a 6-3 record in the Southeastern Conference.
The captain and his Wildcats (11-13 overall, 3-7 SEC) are coming off of two tough conference road losses at No. 3 Georgia and No. 10 Tennessee last weekend. At Tennessee, the Cats pushed the Volunteers at the top of the singles line-up to three sets each and forced the deciding doubles match to extra games but could not collect a victory.
The Commodores (11-8, 3-7) also visited Georgia and Tennessee last weekend with similar results, losing both matches. Vanderbilt is led by No 55 Ryan Preston in singles. Both teams have similar conference ledgers with victories over South Carolina and Mississippi State this season. Vanderbilt?s other conference win was at home against Alabama while UK beat Auburn at home in Boone for its third SEC victory. The Cats lost to the Commodores 6-1 last year in Nashville but won a tight 4-3 match two seasons ago in Lexington.
The Cats? SEC travel partner Commodores are tied with the Blue and White for fourth in the SEC eastern division. With a win, Kentucky has a chance to be seeded as high as seventh at next weekend?s SEC men?s tennis championships starting Thursday at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. If the Cats falter, they will be seeded either ninth or tenth. No matter the result, an opening-round rematch with Vanderbilt is a strong possibility next week.
Live stats and a full recap of the match will be available on UKathletics.com.
