Tough Road Test for Cats, Meet No. 11 Southern California in Seattle
SEATTLE – The University of Kentucky women’s tennis team will compete in the 12th annual International Tennis Association Kick-Off Weekend in Seattle, Washington, opening the tournament against No. 11 Southern California on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. ET.
Hosted at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center, No. 17 Washington will host Kentucky, No. 11 Southern California and Princeton for one of 15 tournaments contested around the nation this weekend. Four teams will compete in a single-elimination format at each region, with the winning team of each region advancing to National Team Indoors, Feb. 7-10.
The teams selected to compete in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend tournaments hosted around the nation ended the 2019-20 season in the top 64, while the 16 host teams ended last season in the top 16.
Kentucky will compete in the opening round of the nationwide tournament against its first top 25 opponent of the season. The Wildcats bring a 5-0 record to Seattle, including a 1-0 mark on the road. Boasting a 23-7 record in the singles competition, UK shines best in doubles with a 10-0 record and without dropping the doubles point all season.
The No. 21 doubles team in redshirt junior Lesedi Jacobs and redshirt senior Akvile Paražinskaite will look to extend their impressive 13-1 overall doubles record, earned in the fall and spring sessions. Jacobs also has something to prove this weekend, ranked as the 59th-best singles player in the nation and boasting a 4-0 mark this season.
The dual match will mark Southern California’s season opener. The 11th-ranked team in the nation has three players ranked in the singles top 100 and a doubles team ranked 29th. Last season, the Trojans went 20-8, a record that includes a trip to the NCAA Round of 16. Their team includes three newcomers and eight returners.
Live scoring can be found here.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s tennis program, follow @UKWomensTennis on Twitter and on Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.
