No. 12 Kentucky Travels to No. 41 Vanderbilt, No. 39 Ole Miss

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats men’s tennis team will play its next two conference matches on the road this weekend. UK will start the road trip against No. 41 Vanderbilt on Friday at 5 p.m. ET at the Currey Tennis Center and then head to Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center in Oxford, Mississippi, to take on No. 39 Ole Miss on Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
Last time out
In its last two Southeastern Conference tilts, UK took down Auburn, 4-3, and Texas A&M, 6-1, to improve to 13-4 on the year. Holding a 4-1 conference record, Kentucky sits in third in the SEC standings behind Florida and Georgia, respectively. 
 
Graduate student Francois Musitelli picked up his 20^th singles win of the year on Friday, taking down Auburn’s Raul Dobai 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. The match also served as Musitelli’s second match-clinching victory of his Wildcat career. The Dijon, France native is undefeated against opponents in SEC play, holding a 4-0 record.
 
On Sunday, captain Millen Hurrion picked up his second straight victory over a ranked opponent, taking down Texas A&M’s No. 98 Raphael Perot in extraordinary fashion. After picking up his first doubles win with partner Musitelli, 6-1, the fifth year opened the first set against Perot and was in immediate control. Hurrion managed to win by a 6-1, 6-4 result.
 
#UKRising in the rankings
In Wednesday’s most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, the Wildcats jumped back up one spot and now sit as the No. 12 team in the country for the third time this season. 
 
Liam Draxl and Hurrion make their season debut in the singes rankings as UK now boasts five ranked players. Hurrion, who holds three wins over ranked competition, comes joins the rankings at No. 114. The reigning ITA Player of the Year, Draxl, starts at No. 94. Just behind him is sophomore Joshua Lapadat at No. 95, with a 20-5 record on the year.
 
Despite picking up two wins over the weekend, Musitelli moves backwards one spot and now sits at No. 61. He holds the second-most wins on the team this year, sitting at 21-7, and the most ranked wins on the team this spring with four.
 
Montreal native Gabriel Diallo remains the highest-ranked UK athlete since the season’s rankings debuted. This week, Diallo moved up one spot to No. 9 in the country. The junior played in one match last weekend against Aggies’ Guido Marson and pulled out a gritty 6-7(7-2), 6-1, 11-9 win to stay a perfect 8-0 in spring, improving to 22-3 on the year.
 
Draxl and Hurrion remain the lone Kentucky tandem ranked in doubles, moving 18 spots up and now slot at No. 43. While the pair went inactive last week, they hold a 5-2 record on the season. 
 
Scouting the Commodores
After picking up a win against Indiana on Wednesday by a 4-0 final, Kentucky will come to Nashville, Tennessee, during the middle of a seven-match homestand for Vanderbilt. VU will wrap up the weekend on Sunday against Alabama.
 
The Commodores currently sit at 13-5 overall with a 10-3 mark at home while 1-4 in conference play. Last week, VU went 2-2 during two doubleheaders, losing its two SEC matches against LSU and Auburn but earning wins against non-conference opponents Alabama A&M and Tennessee State.
 
Vanderbilt has one player and doubles tandem ranked. No. 44 George Harwell represents the Commodores in singles with a 17-9 record, while No. 80 Michael Ross and Siim Troost round out the doubles rankings at a 15-10 record and 11-4 at the one spot. 
 
Scouting the Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels hold a 11-7 record, going 1-4 in SEC matches and 9-1 when at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. The team hosts Auburn on Friday afternoon before the Wildcats come to town.
 
The Rebels went 0-2 last week while taking on two top-10 conference opponents on the road in Florida and South Carolina, falling in both matches 6-1. Lukas Engelhardt and Simon Junk were the lone athletes to pick up wins last week on their road trip.
 
No. 36 Nikola Slavic is one of two on the Ole Miss team ranked in singles, with the other being No. 110 Finn Reynolds. Slavic is 16-8 overall, with a 7-5 record at the one spot and 5-6 against ranked opponents. Reynolds most frequently holds the number two spot with a 12-14 record on the year.
 
No. 12 Engelhardt and Reynolds comprise a dangerous tandem and are the lone Rebels ranked in doubles. The pair was previously No. 2 in the country before dropping their previous three matches, falling to a 10-4 record.
 
Next on the schedule
After its two matches on the road, the Wildcats will return to Lexington to play in its last non-conference match of the year against No. 11 Virginia on Thursday, March 31. The teams were previously slated to play on February 4, but severe winter weather forced the match to take place on a later date.
 
Kentucky will then travel to Columbia, South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks on Sunday, April 3. This will be the second meeting this season between the squads, with the first coming at the ITA Indoor Championship in Seattle. UK will look to avenge its 4-1 loss to South Carolina that it took on the final day of the tournament. 
 
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.