April 25, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After combining for over 40 singles wins on the season, including upsets of multiple top-10 players, monumental wins in the nations toughest conference, and critical play in doubles points, senior Anthony Rossi and junior Tom Jomby were named First Team All-SEC, as voted on by the Southeastern Conference coaches, it was announced by the league office Thursday morning.
Rossi moved into the top five of the national Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings this week for the first time in his career after compiling a 2-0 record in the SEC Tournament and going 22-5 on the year in singles. Rossi has played the No. 1 position for every match but one this season, including matching up against four top-10 ranked players in the country. Rossi has two victories over No. 6 KU Singh of Georgia, with both coming in straight sets. In addition, he also has a win over No. 10 Raymond Sarmiento of Southern California, 6-3, 6-4. Rossi became just the 15th player in UK tennis history to eclipse the 100-career win mark earlier this season as he joined the likes of Eric Quigley and Alex Musialek in UK’s recent run of major success.
Tom Jomby has also combined with Rossi to form one of the best one-two punches in NCAA Tennis today. Jomby in singles performed brilliantly during the season, going 19-6 with a signature win over No. 4 Peter Kobelt of Ohio State, 6-3, 7-6 (3). Jomby played 17 ranked opponents this season, and etched wins in 10 of those matches out, with eight of the 10 coming in straight- sets.
Jomby also forms the Wildcats number one doubles team, teaming up with freshman Kevin Lai, who together have endured a 15-8 season together. Included in Jomby and Lai’s major wins were wins over No. 3 Daniel Cochrane/Andres Mies of Auburn 8-6. Jomby and Lai played a greatly-important tiebreaker last week at the SEC Tournament, as they came from down a break to win 9-8 (5), and clinch the doubles point over No. 9 Mississippi State. Jomby and Lai have won seven matches this season against ranked opponents, and are currently ranked No. 8 in the nation.
Kentucky will be back in action for the NCAA Tournament on May 10-12. The top 16 teams in the country will be selected as host institutions for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats will learn their destination and seeding in the NCAA Selection Show on April 30 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The broadcast will be live on NCAAsports.com.
For more information, log onto UKathletics.com.
