No. 17 Wildcats Prepped for NCAA Tournament
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. – In its fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the No. 17 Kentucky women’s tennis team will open up action in Ann Arbor tomorrow, taking on Dartmouth at 10 a.m. at the Varsity Tennis Center.
The winner will continue on to Saturday’s second round match, facing the victor of Friday’s 1 p.m. match between host-school Michigan and Youngstown State. Saturday’s match will begin at 1 p.m. with the winner advancing to the championship site in Athens, Georgia. Hosted by Georgia, the remainder of the tournament will run from May 19-23 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The Wildcats (16-8) earned their 23rd overall NCAA Championship bid after posting their first seven-win Southeastern Conference season since 2006. This season also marked the first time Kentucky has finished above .500 in conference play since 2007.
UK’s roster features two ranked singles players and one ranked doubles pair in the latest ITA rankings. Senior Aldila Sutjiadi comes in at No. 22 in singles and sophomore Akvile Paražinskaite is ranked 103rd. In doubles, Sutjiadi and junior Mami Adachi team up to form the nation’s sixth-ranked duo.
Kentucky holds a 20-23 all-time record in the NCAA Championship, with its best finishes coming in 1988 and 2005 as the Wildcats advanced to the quarterfinals both years. The 2016 campaign saw Kentucky pick up a first-round victory over Xavier before falling to Michigan in the second round.
Dartmouth, ranked 45th in the ITA rankings, ended its regular season with a share of the Ivy League crown after compiling a 17-4 overall record and going 5-2 in league play. The Big Green will be making their second ever appearance in the tournament having earned an automatic bid in the 2015 season.
The Wildcats own a 1-0 series advantage against Dartmouth after taking a 4-1 victory over the Big Green last year. Coincidentally, that match was also played in Ann Arbor as part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend. This season, UK has already seen three Ivy League opponents in Penn, Princeton and Columbia, coming up on the winning end of all three.
Youngstown State (16-8) picked up its fourth-straight Horizon League title this year to earn another automatic bid to the tournament. A matchup with the Penguins would be a first for Kentucky, as the two programs have never played.
The No. 10 overall seed, Michigan (21-5) will be making its 16th-straight appearance in the NCAA Championship. UM went 11-0 in Big Ten play this season to secure a share of the conference title. The Wolverines are a familiar opponent for Kentucky as the two programs have faced off on 12 separate occasions, two of which came last season. Michigan handed UK its season-ending loss in the second round of last season’s NCAA Championship, downing the Wildcats, 4-1.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s tennis program,
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and on the web at UKathletics.com.
