Kentucky Men’s Tennis to Play First Conference Foes of the Season

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The No. 11 Kentucky men’s tennis team will take on its first Southeastern Conference foes this weekend at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend in Starkville, Mississippi. 
 
The Wildcats (4-0) will enter as the two-seed, and will face Alabama (2-1), the three-seed in a four-team field, on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET, at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Center.
 
Rounding out the SEC-centric field is four-seed Arkansas and host Mississippi State, the top seed in this event and the 21^st-ranked team in the country. Should the Wildcats win their match against the Crimson Tide, they will advance and play the winner of the Razorbacks and Bulldogs on Sunday at 2 p.m. The teams that do not advance on Saturday will a play a consolation match on Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
The last team standing will advance to the ITA National Indoor Championship in Seattle at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center. The field will be comprised of champions from the other 14 regional ITA Kickoff Weekend winners. 
 
While the Wildcats will play SEC opponents this weekend, the results will not count toward their overall conference record on the year. 
 
Alabama will provide the first opportunity for a ranked win this season. The Crimson Tide has one ranked singles player, 83^rd-ranked Filip Planinsek, and two ranked doubles pairs in 16^th-ranked Planinsek and Juan Martin and 52^nd-ranked Planinsek and Enzo Aguiard.
 
Most recently, the Tide traveled to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on No. 18 Ole Miss (3-0), falling in a close match by a score of 4-3. Planinsek earned his first ranked victory of the year, taking down No. 44 Finn Reynolds by a score of 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
 
Kentucky has yet to drop a team point during its first four matches, sweeping Dayton twice, Louisville and Northern Kentucky.
 
Captain Millen Hurrion and reigning ITA Player of the Year Liam Draxl have led the Wildcats to an undefeated record thus far. The pair have yet to drop a match this year, both standing at 3-0 on the season in singles. As a doubles pair, they are 2-0.
 
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter and Facebook, @kentuckymenstennis on Instagram, and on the web at UKAthletics.com.