April 10, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fresh off dethroning the No. 1 team in the nation, the Ohio State Buckeyes, the No. 14 University of Kentucky men’s tennis team will quickly turn around and face three tough teams, including two Southeastern Conference teams to conclude the 2014 regular season on Friday and Sunday afternoons.
Friday will be a stand-alone match, with No. 14 Kentucky welcoming in No. 35 South Carolina for a match scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET at the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center in Lexington. Sunday will feature a doubleheader, with the first match being against No. 15 Florida at 1 p.m. ET, followed by a 7 p.m. ET showdown with in-state foe Murray State at 6 p.m. ET.
Sunday’s match with No. 15 Florida will serve as Senior Day for the Wildcats, as UK will honor its six seniors in a pre-match ceremony on court one prior to the match with UF. Kentucky’s six seniors this year are Alejandro Gomez, Ryuji Hirooka. Maks Gold, Tom Jomby, Panav Jha and Grant Roberts.
The three matches this weekend will serve as the regular season finale, as next week will mark the beginning of postseason play with the SEC Tournament Championship. The 2014 conference tournament will be hosted by Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and will be on April 16-20. Kentucky with a 8-2 conference record, has already clinched a double-bye in the tournament, and will not compete until Friday in the quarterfinal round. Timing of the match and seeding has yet to be determined, as the bracket will be announced on Sunday night.
South Carolina comes into Friday’s match at 12-11 overall, and 4-6 within conference play. The Gamecocks have won five of their last seven matches, including wins over Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn and Ole Miss in that stretch, all teams ranked in the top-70 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s rankings.
Under the direction of second-year head coach Bryan Shelton, the Florida Gators are 12-7 overall and 7-3 inside the conference heading into the weekend. UF has won its last three SEC matches and is one of a handful of teams looking to clinch a double-bye in the conference tournament this weekend. On Friday, Florida will travel to Nashville to take on the No. 26 Vanderbilt Commodores before making its way to Lexington.
Live stats for all three matches this weekend will be available at UKathletics.com.
For continuing coverage of UK men’s tennis, log on to UKathletics.com.
