LEXINGTON, Ky. – Four University of Kentucky men’s tennis players have earned career-high singles rankings in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason singles and doubles rankings, it was announced Monday.
Senior Anthony Rossi led the way for Kentucky with a No. 12 preseason ranking in singles, followed by junior Tom Jomby at No. 45, junior Panav Jha at No. 64 and junior Alejandro Gomez at No. 72. Rossi and Jomby, who have an 11-9 career record together in doubles, were also ranked 34th national in doubles.
The No. 12 ranking for Rossi is a collegiate high as the senior captain has now been ranked in singles for 12-consecutive polls. Rossi finished the 2011-12 season with a 37-7 record, including a 22-4 mark in dual matches. The native of Marseille, France, won the Southeastern Conference Coaches’ Indoor Singles Championship, while also being named first-team All-SEC and the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Player to Watch.
Jomby enters the fall with a career-high post of No. 45. The native of Nantes, France is coming off a great sophomore season that earned him All-SEC second-team honors. Jomby finished the season 30-12, including an 8-2 record against conference foes. Jomby was also a SEC Player of the Week award winner and was a member of the SEC All-Tournament Team last season. This is the 11th-consecutive singles ranking for Jomby.
Jha had some big wins for Kentucky in 2011-12 en route to his career-best ranking this preseason. The native of Pointe Claire, Montreal earned singles rankings in nine polls last season. Jha ended the year with a 17-13 record, playing mostly at the end of the UK lineup in dual matches. Last season was Jha’s first collegiately.
Gomez completes the rankings at No. 72, which is also a career best. The native of Cali, Colombia had the second-most singles wins on the team last year with a 39-13 record, including 19 wins in dual matches. Gomez spent most of the 2012 spring season ranked in singles, including peaking at No. 87.
The preseason fall rankings include only singles and doubles rankings, no team rankings were released. Team rankings and updated singles and doubles rankings will not be released until Jan. 3.
