April 17, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. — After winning the Southeastern Conference regular season title behind an undefeated run through conference play, the University of Kentucky men’s tennis team has moved up one spot to sixth in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, the association announced Tuesday.
The No. 6 ranking for Kentucky (24-4, 11-0 SEC) ties the highest of the season for the Wildcats. UK was also ranked sixth on Feb. 7 and April 3. The Wildcats were seventh last week and have not fallen out of the top 10 of the ITA team rankings for 16 consecutive weeks. UK also started the season ranked seventh.
Kentucky has had a lot of success this season against the best teams in the nation, holding a 20-4 record against currently ranked teams. The Wildcats also have four wins against top-10 teams this season, while they hold a 10-3 record against teams currently ranked in the top 25.
The Wildcats will be back in action this weekend when they travels to Starkville, Miss., to compete in the SEC Tournament. The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the event and will receive a first round bye. Kentucky will compete in the quarterfinals of the event Friday at 3 p.m. ET against the winner of the LSU/Vanderbilt match.
Six Kentucky players are ranked in singles in the latest rankings, while UK also has two top-40 ranked doubles duos. Senior Eric Quigley is ranked third in the nation for the second-consecutive week, which is a season-high ranking for the senior. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., has been fantastic this season with a record of 45-6, including a 22-1 mark in dual matches.
Fellow senior Alex Musialek and junior Anthony Rossi are also in the top 20 with Musialek sitting 14th and Rossi 19th. Musialek’s high mark is just one off his career best of 13th, which he earned earlier this season. The native of Dax, France is 28-10 overall this season and 14-5 in dual matches. Rossi, a native of Marseille, France, enters the top 20 for the first time since he was 14th on Feb. 28.
Three UK sophomores complete the rankings in Tom Jomby, Alejandro Gomez and Panav Jha. Jomby, who is 16-5 this year in dual matches, is ranked 76th, while Gomez is 110th and Jha 112th. Gomez is having a great dual-match season with a record of 17-7, while Jha is 16-12 overall this season.
In doubles, Quigley and Jha headline the rankings at 12th, marking the fourth consecutive week the duo has been ranked in the top 20. Musialek and Rossi, who entered the ranking for the first time this season last week, moved up several spots this week to 37th.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow “UKMensTennis” on Twitter or like “University of Kentucky men’s tennis team” on Facebook.
