April 17, 2009

NASHVILLE – The No. 12 Kentucky men’s tennis team wraps up the regular season against No. 55 Vanderbilt Saturday at the Commodores’ Currey Tennis Center in Nashville.

UK (15-9, 5-5 SEC) moved up two spots in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings after defeating No. 6 Tennessee in between losses to No. 4 Georgia and No. 11 Illinois last week.

UK senior Bruno Agostinelli remains the nation’s fifth-ranked singles player. He earned his 100th career win against No. 8 John-Patrick Smith of Tennessee and recorded his seventh win against a top-30 opponent this season. In doubles, Agostinelli is ranked with sophomore Brad Cox at 18th in the nation.

Vanderbilt (5-15, 1-9) dropped two home matches against Tennessee and Georgia last week. The Wildcats have lost two straight matches to the Commodores. VU won 4-3 in Lexington last season.

Commodore Bryant Salcedo is ranked at No. 98 in the latest ITA men’s singles poll while VU’s doubles team of Adam Baker and Alex Zotov stands 35th in the rankings.

All 12 Southeastern Conference teams are ranked among the nation’s top 62 squads. Additionally, the conference is top-heavy with seven teams inside the top 18 in the country. Top-10 SEC teams include No. 3 Ole Miss, No. 4 Georgia, No. 6 Tennessee, and No. 10 Florida. The twelfth-ranked Wildcats as well as No. 15 Alabama and No. 18 Auburn complete the group of top-20 squads.

UK is primarily battling Auburn for seeding in next week’s SEC tournament hosted by the Tigers. The Wildcats likely will be seeded sixth with a win over Vanderbilt. The Tigers will face rival Alabama at home Saturday.

Please visit UKathletics.com for live stats and a full recap of tomorrow’s match.