No. 41 State Netters To Welcome 10th-Ranked Kentucky Sunday
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State's 41st-ranked men's tennis team will host 10th-ranked Kentucky Sunday on the MSU campus. Match time is set for 1 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The Bulldogs, 5-8 overall and 1-4 in Southeastern Conference action, are coming off a 5-2 loss to 14th-ranked Vanderbilt Friday afternoon in Starkville. UK is 11-7, 3-2 in the SEC, following a 7-0 loss at sixth-ranked Mississippi Friday.
Mississippi State and Kentucky have met on the tennis court 32 times in the modern era (since 1969). UK holds a slim 17-15 series lead on the Bulldogs in that time span. State is 9-3 against UK since 1993, but the Wildcats' three wins have come in the last five seasons. The teams split a pair of contests last season. State rallied from a 3-0 deficit to upset then fourth-ranked UK 4-3 in Lexington. Kentucky later claimed a 4-2 decision over MSU in the first round of the SEC Championship in Knoxville, Tenn.
MSU is led by junior all-American Romain Ambert who is 26-9 at the No. 1 singles position during his career and has been ranked as high as No. 3 nationally. The Wildcats are led by sophomore Jesse Witten, currently ranked 11th in the country in singles.
"Kentucky has a solid team again this year," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "Like any other SEC team, they will be a challenge to beat."
Following Sunday's contest, State hits the road for its next two matches. The Bulldogs will travel to 33rd-ranked Tennessee this Friday, March 28, before visiting 17th-ranked Georgia next Sunday, March 30.