March 6, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After starting its difficult Southeastern Conference schedule with two wins over ranked foes, the University of Kentucky men’s tennis team has jumped two spots to No. 7 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, the association announced Tuesday.
Kentucky (13-3, 2-0 SEC) was ranked seventh preseason before earning 10-consecutive wins to start the year to jump to No. 6 in the team rankings. The Wildcats’ 10-0 start was their best in the 30-year tenure of head coach Dennis Emery. UK fell to ninth last week after dropping three matches to top-10 ranked opponents.
The Wildcats are coming an impressive week of action with three quality wins. Kentucky started the week with a 5-2 win at Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday, before grabbing two key SEC road wins over the weekend. UK took down No. 17 LSU on Friday 5-1 before ending the week with a 6-1 win over No. 47 Arkansas on Sunday.
Kentucky won the doubles point against all three opponents, moving its record to 9-0 this season when it grabs the doubles point. Sophomore Tom Jomby led UK in singles with a 3-0 record, while seniors Eric Quigley and Alex Musialek, and sophomores Grant Roberts and Alejandro Gomez each posted two wins.
UK’s wins over the Tigers and Razorbacks were its eighth and ninth of the season over a ranked foe. The Wildcats have also defeated then-No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 12 Pepperdine, No. 22 Tulsa, No. 29 Indiana, No. 30 Notre Dame, No. 53 Michigan State and No. 57 North Carolina State. The win over LSU was Kentucky’s 23rd over a top-25 team since the start of the 2009 season.
The weekend visit to LSU and Arkansas completed an eight-match road swing for UK. The Wildcats posted a 5-3 record during that stretch, including wins over four ranked teams. Kentucky’s three losses came to top-10 teams.
The Wildcats are the second-highest ranked team in the SEC in the new rankings, sitting one spot behind sixth-ranked Georgia. Florida is also in the top 10 at No. 9, while Mississippi State is 12th, Ole Miss is 14th and Tennessee rounds out the top 10 at No. 19. Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt are all ranked in the top 50, while Alabama is the only unranked league team.
UK will begin a five-match homestand Friday at 1 p.m. ET against No. 33 South Carolina. The match will be Kentucky’s SEC home opener. Admission to all UK men’s tennis home matches is free of charge.
The Wildcats have been nearly unbeatable at home the past few season, posting a 52-9 record at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex since the start of the 2009 season. UK is 6-0 at home this season.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow “UKMensTennis” on Twitter or “University of Kentucky men’s tennis team” on Facebook.
