Jan. 22, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After sweeping both matches this weekend and collecting 7-0 wins over Northern Kentucky and Morehead State, the No. 9 University of Kentucky men’s tennis team will hit the road for the first time in 2013 as the Wildcats will travel to No. 22 Indiana for a top-25 showdown on Wednesday in Bloomington, Ind., in a match scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. ET
“This match will be a tough test for our team and we are really looking forward to it,” UK head coach Cedric Kauffmann said. “We had a lot of really solid performances in Sunday’s matches, so we are looking to back that up against one of the best teams in our region.”
The match with Indiana starts a large trend in the UK schedule this year, as the Wildcats will play 15 matches against teams that are currently ranked in the top-25 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. UK will play ranked foes in each of its next five matches, with all but one of those teams coming in ranked in the top-40.
“We make it a point to go out and play one of the best schedules in the country,” Kauffmann said. “We want to challenge ourselves to get better, and this also helps us to prepare for the SEC, which is one of the toughest conferences in the country.”
Kentucky is coming off two sweeps on Sunday in which the Wildcats did not drop a set in singles or doubles for both matches. The highlights for Kentucky included its doubles play, in which UK won all six matches, as well as consistency in singles play. In doubles, No. 35 Tom Jomby and Kevin Lai recorded 8-0 and 8-1 victories, validating their ranking as top-40 in the nation. The duo also performed well in the singles competition, as they each picked up victories on Sunday afternoon.
Also in singles action, No. 94 Anthony Rossi had a solid day, recording two wins in straight sets on the No. 1 court and solidifying the top spot for Kentucky.
Indiana comes into Tuesday’s match with an 0-1 record as the Hoosiers fell to No. 40 North Carolina State in their season opener on Monday afternoon. IU and Kentucky played two times in 2012, with UK taking the win 7-0 on Jan. 24 in the regular season and also collecting a 4-0 win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in the Lexington, Ky., regional.
For continuing coverage of UK men’s tennis, log on to UKathletics.com.
