April 22, 2010

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 4-seed University of Kentucky men’s tennis team will face No. 5-seed Ole Miss Friday in quarterfinal action of the Southeastern Conference Championship at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.

The match is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET. Details will be posted on UKathletics.com should inclement weather delay the beginning of the contest. Quarterfinal matches will be played indoors if necessary. Fans are encouraged to follow scores from tournament play via live statistics on the UK website.

Ole Miss (17-6), ranked No. 19 in the nation, defeated No.12-seed South Carolina 4-1 on Thursday in first-round play.
“Ole Miss is the two-time defending champion of this tournament and we expect them to come out ready to defend their title on Friday,” UK head coach Dennis Emery said. “They are a well-coached team that is really one of the elite programs in the nation over the past 15 years.”

Kentucky (23-7) defeated Ole Miss 5-2 in UK’s first outdoor match of the season on March 7 in Lexington. The Wildcats’ victory snapped the Rebels’ 23-match win streak as UK swept the double point and won four of six singles matches.

“We expect a much closer match (on Friday),” Emery said. 

The winner of the Kentucky-Ole Miss match will take on the winner of the LSU -Tennessee match Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

In other first-round matches Thursday, sixth-seed Auburn defeated No. 11-seed Arkansas 4-1, No. 10-seed Mississippi State upset No. 7-seed Vanderbilt 4-0 and No. 9-seed LSU topped eighth-seed Alabama 4-2.