April 19, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –

The No. 12 Kentucky men’s tennis team learned it will face No. 47 Arkansas in the first round of the 2009 Southeastern Conference Men’s Tennis Tournament after the conference office in Birmingham released the draw Sunday. The sixth-seeded Wildcats take on the 11th-seeded Razorbacks at 4:00 p.m. ET Thursday at Auburn University’s Yarbrough Tennis Center.

UK (16-9, 6-5 SEC) finished the season with a 6-1 victory at No. 55 Vanderbilt Saturday. Arkansas (10-13, 2-9) enters the tourney with a four-match losing streak after a 4-0 loss to No. 31 LSU. Kentucky won the regular-season match between the first-round foes, 6-1, in Lexington last month.

The Wildcats and Razorbacks will be one of two matches to be played simultaneously at Yarbrough. Only one match, yet to be determined, will provide live results for fans. For more tournament information, please visit AU’s Championship Central page: 2009 SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament Championship Central.

The winner of the first-round matchup will face No. 6 Tennessee (19-5, 8-3), the third seed, in the second round at 4:00 p.m. ET Friday. The Cats have already knocked off the Volunteers twice this season, accounting for two of UT’s five losses.

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.

Please visit UKathletics.com Wednesday for a complete preview of the Arkansas match at the SEC tourney.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (All times Central and subject to change)

Thursday, April 23


11 a.m. Match 1: #9 South Carolina vs. #8 LSU
11 a.m. Match 2: #12 Vanderbilt vs. #5 Alabama

3 p.m. Match 3: #11 Arkansas vs. #6 KENTUCKY


3 p.m. Match 4: #10 Mississippi State vs. #7 Auburn
 

Friday, April 24

11 a.m. Match 5: Winner Match 1 vs. #1 Ole Miss
11 a.m. Match 6: Winner Match 2 vs. #4 Florida
3 p.m. Match 7: Winner Match 3 vs. #3 Tennessee
3 p.m. Match 8: Winner Match 4 vs. #2 Georgia
 

Saturday, April 25

11 a.m. Match 9: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6
3 p.m. Match 10: Winner Match 7 vs. Winner Match 8
 

Sunday, April 26

1 p.m. Championship: Winner Match 9 vs. Winner Match 10