March 5, 2009

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After starting the non-conference portion of their schedule undefeated, the No. 14 University of Kentucky women’s tennis team (8-0 overall, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) begins conference action this weekend. UK will kick-off SEC play with a 1 p.m. ET match against No. 31 Florida (6-4, 0-0 SEC) on Fri., March 6 and a noon match with No. 29 South Carolina (5-3, 0-0 SEC) Sun., March 8, both at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.

The Wildcats started the 2009 season swinging. After eight consecutive wins, taking down four ranked opponents all in the top 50, the Cats have made program history with the best start in over 20 years. UK has also eclipsed the top 15 mark in the polls coming in at No. 14, the best ranking Kentucky has registered since Jan. 31, 2005 when head coach Carlos Drada started his head coaching career.  

The second half of UK’s schedule is marked with all 12 league foes, including two non-league opponents in Baylor and South Florida.

Florida managed to win its last two matches with only five scholarship players, but was unable to pull out a third, as the Gators lost to Florida State, 5-2, last week. The last time UK won against UF was in 2005 on March 13, 5-2. That was also the year Kentucky won the SEC Championship and the only time Kentucky has defeated Florida in the 32 matches of the all-time series.

The Blue and White defeated South Carolina last season in Columbia, S.C., 4-3. The Gamecocks will be coming to Kentucky after playing their first conference opponent, Vanderbilt, in Nashville, Tenn. South Carolina has not seen match play since Feb. 22 when they fell 5-2 to the Clemson Tigers. The Blue and White hold a 16-10 advantage over the Gamecocks, including a 7-2 record over the last nine years.

Kentucky remains one of three teams left undefeated in the SEC. Other 8-0 teams include Alabama and Mississippi State.
Live stats for both matches will be available at www.ukathletics.com, your source for all the latest Kentucky tennis news.