March 26, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky men’s tennis team will split matches at home and on the road this weekend. The No. 13 Wildcats host the No. 17 Crimson Tide at 3:00 p.m. ET Friday at the Boone Tennis Complex before traveling to Auburn Sunday to take on the No. 22 Tigers.
UK (12-4, 2-2 SEC) remained in the same position in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings this week after a mid-week road victory over No. 45 Miami. The Wildcats have allowed only three team points to its opposition over the past four matches. With its next victory, Kentucky will surpass its win total from last year with seven regular-season contests remaining beyond this weekend’s matches.
The Southeastern Conference has three of the top five teams in the nation including No. 2 Ole Miss, No. 3 Georgia and No. 5 Tennessee. The seventh-ranked Florida Gators increases the SEC team total to four of the top 10 nationally. UK has already defeated the fifth-ranked Volunteers on the road in non-conference play this season.
Senior Bruno Agostinelli is the nation’s fifth-ranked singles player entering the contest. He carries a 9-4 singles record this season with five wins over top-30 opponents. In doubles, Agostinelli is also ranked with sophomore Brad Cox at 22nd in the nation.
Freshman Eric Quigley is also ranked in singles for the Cats at No. 111 in the country. He carries a 12-2 singles record in the dual match season and is undefeated in the Southeastern Conference at 4-0. Quigley increased his singles win streak to nine matches; giving up six games or less in eight of those victories. Eleven of Quigley’s 12 wins have been in straight sets, all at the No. 3 position.
Today Quigley is featured on Cat Scratches, the official blog of UK athletics, at UKathletics.com.
Alabama (15-3, 3-1) comes into the week after playing four matches in four days last week at the Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala. The Tide went 3-1 last week with sweeps of No. 61 Middle Tennessee and No. 23 Boise State along with a 4-1 win over No. 24 Wisconsin before falling 4-2 in the Championship match against No. 5 Tennessee. UA’s only loss in conference is a 4-3 home loss to No. 2 Ole Miss two weeks ago.
Kentucky and Alabama share six common opponents this season. Both squads defeated No. 36 Miami, No. 45 Indiana, No. 46 Arkansas and No. 31 LSU and both fell 4-3 to the second-ranked Rebels. The only difference is the Tide’s 4-2 loss to UT while the Cats beat the Volunteers 4-2 in Knoxville last month.
Two UA players are ranked in the latest ITA men’s singles poll, including No. 32 Saketh Myneni and No. 76 Mathieu Thibaudeau. Alabama has three doubles teams in the rankings led by Thibaudeau and partner Ricky Doverspike at No. 24.
Auburn (9-5, 2-2) will visit Vanderbilt Friday before returning home to host the Wildcats Sunday. Last week, the Tigers also participated in the Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala. Auburn knocked off No. 70 William & Mary and No. 29 Oklahoma State before falling 4-2 to eventual champion Tennessee in the semifinals.
Kentucky and Auburn share four common opponents this season. Both squads defeated No. 46 Arkansas and No. 31 LSU and both fell to the second-ranked Rebels. The only difference is AU’s 4-2 loss to UT while the Cats beat the Volunteers 4-2 in Knoxville last month.
Two Tiger players are ranked in the latest ITA men’s singles poll, including No. 44 Alexey Tsyrenov and No. 106 Tim Puetz. Together the Tigers form the 10th-ranked doubles team in the nation.
The first 75 fans attending the Alabama match tomorrow will receive a voucher for free pizza prior to the match.
Please visit UKathletics.com for live stats and a full recap of tomorrow’s match.
