May 15, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a regional final comeback that was capped off by senior Grant Roberts on court six last weekend to seal a 4-3 win over Clemson, the No. 15 University of Kentucky men’s tennis team is set for its Sweet 16 matchup with the Oklahoma Sooners on Friday at 4 p.m. ET in Athens, Ga.
The Wildcats and Sooners played once this season back at the start of the outdoor season, as the No. 2 Sooners downed the Wildcats 5-2 in Norman, Okla. Kentucky won the doubles point with wins on courts two and three to clinch the doubles point and take the early 1-0 lead in the match. The Sooners then won five of the six singles matches in straight sets, with the lone exception being on court one where No. 13 Tom Jomby beat No. 5 Guillermo Alcorta 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 to make the final score 5-2 in favor of Oklahoma.
UK and Oklahoma have met each of the past two seasons, with each team winning on its home court. In 2013, Kentucky’s Grant Roberts clinched a six-hour-plus match on court six as he won the match 7-5 in the third set, breaking late to win the match.
Kentucky is playing in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the fifth-straight year, a new program record. In head coach Cedric Kauffmann’s era, the Wildcats have reached the Sweet 16 each of his two seasons at the helm of the Wildcats.
Under Kauffmann and assistant coach Matt Emery this season, Kentucky has tallied three wins against top-10 teams this season, as UK has beaten No. 1 Ohio State (4-1), No. 7 Duke (4-3) and No. 8 Texas A&M (4-0) so far in 2014. The Wildcats have played a tough schedule this season, playing 13 matches against teams ranked in the ITA top 25, and 22 matches against teams in the top 50.
A large part of UK’s season this year has been in the doubles point. Kentucky is 14-2 this season when winning the doubles point, as the Wildcats have won the all-important doubles competition in seven of the last 11 matches that UK has played.
There are four Southeastern Conference teams in the NCAA Sweet 16, more than any conference in the nation, as UK joins (8) Georgia, (15) Florida and (NS) Tennessee. The Big XII, ACC and B1G all got three teams into the final round of 16.
UK and OU will start at 4 p.m. ET in Athens, Ga., at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the outer courts.
Live scores for both matches this weekend will be available at georgiadogs.com. For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow “UKMensTennis” on Twitter, and University of Kentucky Men’s Tennis on Facebook.
For more information regarding the University of Kentucky men’s tennis team, please go to UKathletics.com.
