March 1, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 12 University of Kentucky men’s tennis team will have its final non-conference tune up before beginning Southeastern Conference play this weekend when it host in-state foe Murray State on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
Kentucky (10-3) is fresh off a 2-1 performance in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Men’s Team Indoor Championship, defeating then-No. 14 Texas Tech and then-No. 29 Washington. UK has not played since its victory over the Huskies on Feb. 21.
The Wildcats have faced nine top-50 opponents this season, holding a 6-3 mark in those matches with wins over then-No. 14 Texas Tech, then-No. 22 Wake Forest, then-No. 29 Washington, then-No. 38 Miami (Fla.), then-No. 42 Boise State and then-No. 46 Indiana.
UK is represented well in the most recent ITA rankings, coming in at No. 12 as a team, moving up from being ranked No. 13 last week. Individually, Kentucky has three players ranked in the ITA singles poll, with junior Eric Quigley leading the way at No. 5 in the nation. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., has been solid for UK this season, posting an 8-2 record at No. 1 singles with a 4-1 mark over players currently ranked in the ITA top 70.
Junior Alex Musialek made an impressive jump in the rankings, moving from No. 70 to No. 57 by posting two wins over highly ranked players at the National Indoors. The native of Dax, France is 7-5 in dual-match play this season, including a 6-4 post at No. 2 singles.
Senior Alberto Gonzalez is the final Wildcat in the rankings, moving up to No. 86 after falling out of the rankings two weeks ago. The native of Bradenton, Fla., is 5-3 in singles play this season with a 5-1 record since moving to the No. 4 singles position.
Kentucky will look to increase its impressive showing at home over the past few years. The Wildcats are 7-0 at home this season and 35-6 at the Boone Tennis Complex since the start of the 2009 season.
After the match with the Racers, Kentucky will begin SEC play with No. 31 Ole Miss on Friday at 3 p.m. ET before traveling to No. 43 Mississippi State on Sunday for a 1 p.m. ET match. Live stats for every UK men’s tennis match are available at UKathletics.com.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, visit UKathletics.com or follow “University of Kentucky men’s tennis team” on Facebook.
