Feb. 5, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Coming off their first win over a ranked team this season, the No. 31 Kentucky men’s tennis team will try to repeat that feat this weekend when they travel to Charlottesville to battle the fifth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers.

After a weekend split last weekend against No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 17 Rice, the Wildcats (4-1) jumped six spots in this week’s poll to No. 31 in the nation – their highest ranking since Jan. 2007.

UK currently boasts two ranked singles players in No. 4 Bruno Agostinelli and No. 37 Eric Quigley while the doubles pairing of Agostinelli and sophomore Brad Cox stands at No. 13.

Agostinelli went undefeated last weekend in Oxford, winning a crucial three-set match at No. 1 singles against Rice’s Bruno Rosa, ranked 26th after knocking off the No. 1 doubles team in the nation from Ole Miss the day before with partner Brad Cox.

Last season, the Cavaliers edged the Cats 4-3 in Charlottesville. UVA (6-0) has rolled through January, defeating five ranked opponents while only surrendering one point.

Six Cavaliers are ranked in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, led by No. 11 Michael Shabaz, No. 24 Sanam Singh and No. 43 Dominic Inglot. Singh and partner Houston Barrick are ranked third in doubles nationally while Inglot and Shabaz stand 27th in the country.

“This is our second match against a top-10 team this season,” UK head coach Dennis Emery said. “Virginia has established a tremendous tradition after making two Elite Eight and two Final Four appearances over the last four years. Last season they were undefeated going into their National Semifinal match against Georgia and they return a lot of athletes from that team, so we expect them to be good.”

Please visit UKathletics.com for live stats and a full recap of Friday’s action