Feb. 17, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 13th-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennis team will make its second consecutive trip to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s National Men’s Team Indoor Championships when it faces fifth-seeded Texas at the Seattle Tennis Club on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET in Seattle. Kentucky (8-2) received the No. 12 seed in the event.
“We are very excited to go to the National Indoors,” head coach Dennis Emery said. “Our team had to fight hard to advance through the regional qualifier, so that makes it even more enjoyable. With the top-15 teams in the country participating this weekend, it clearly makes this the premiere tournament in the country outside of the NCAA Championships. This will be an important weekend for us.”
The 2011 ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championship, the signature indoor team tournament of the college tennis season, features 16 of the top men’s programs in the nation. The University of Washington will serve as the host of the 37th-running of the event, which will take place at UW’s Nordstrom Tennis Center and the Seattle Tennis Club.
UK received one of 15 qualifying spot in the prestigious tournament after claiming its second-consecutive ITA Kick-off Weekend regional qualifier. In the qualifier, the Wildcats took down then-No. 42 Boise State in the opening round 4-1 before dominating then-No. 22 Wake Forest 4-0 on Jan. 30.
Kentucky will face Texas in the opening round and play either Ohio State or Texas Tech in the quarterfinals or the consolation bracket Saturday. UK’s possible opponents in its third match, which will be played Sunday, will either be top-seeded Virginia, eight-seeded Illinois, ninth-seeded Texas A&M or 16-seeded Washington. The finals will be played Monday at 3 p.m. ET.
UK enters the tournament ranked as the No. 12 team in the nation and boasts three players that are ranked in the top 80 in singles. Junior Eric Quigley headlines the rankings as the third-ranked player in the nation, while fellow junior Alex Musialek is ranked 70th. Sophomore Anthony Rossi has entered the rankings for the first time in his collegiate career at No. 79.
Three other Southeastern Conference schools join the Wildcats in Seattle: third-seeded Tennessee, 10th-seeded Florida and 14th-seeded Georgia. Kentucky is in the opposite bracket and will not face any SEC foes until the finals Monday.
Last year, Kentucky went 1-2, losing to fourth-seeded UCLA in the opening round before beating 12th-seeded Illinois in the first round of the consolation bracket. The Wildcats ended the tournament with a close loss to ninth-seeded Stanford. UK was the 13th seed in the event.
Live scores will be available for all three of Kentucky’s matches. Live video will be provided for matches played at the Nordstorm Tennis Center only. For more information about the event, visit the tournament central page at gohuskies.com.
