Jan. 23, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 8 University of Kentucky men’s tennis team will be looking for its fifth-straight trip to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s National Team Indoor Championships in Houston this weekend, as the Wildcats will be hosting ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center on Friday and Saturday.
Kentucky will be hosting the BYU Cougars, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Minnesota Golden Gophers this weekend, as the four schools will look for the Lexington Regional title on Saturday afternoon. Kentucky will play No. 43 BYU on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET, which will be followed by No. 29 Notre Dame taking on No. 39 Minnesota. The two winners will face off on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET, with the winner of the championship match punching its ticket to the 2014 ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
The Wildcats last year defeated No. 47 Michigan State in the opening round of the championship and then knocked off No. 17 Texas in the regional final to advance to Seattle, and the National Team Indoors.
Kentucky was elected as one of 14 host sites for the championship, based on its finish in last year’s regular season. With Texas A&M being the host for the championships in Houston, they receive a bye into the finals. There will be 14 other host sites other than Lexington who are hosting four teams with its winners advancing.
Kentucky is No. 8 in the nation, and fresh off a 4-0 start to the season, in which the Wildcats have played well to start. UK has defeated two ranked teams in No. 7 Duke, and No. 56 Indiana already.
There will be live stats, live video and a live blog this weekend to follow the action. Live stats and live video will be provided for all four matches in the Lexington Regional, with a live blog that will be running for both of Kentucky’s matches. All of these services can be found on the UK men’s tennis interactive site, and UKathletics.com. All of the live video will be via CBSsports.com’s All-Access subscription.
2014 ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Lexington Regional
Friday, Jan. 24, 2014
1 p.m. ET – No. 8 Kentucky vs. No. 43 BYU
5 p.m. ET – No. 29 Notre Dame vs. No. 39 Minnesota
Saturday, Jan. 25
1 p.m. ET – Consolation match
5 p.m. ET – Championship match (winner advances to Houston)
For continuing coverage of UK men’s tennis, log on to UKathletics.com.
