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UK men's tennis opens play in the SEC Tournament on Friday against either LSU or Vanderbilt. (Steve Harp, UK Athletics)
Though the regular season is complete, the real competition begins this weekend in the SEC Tournament in Starkville, Miss. With these Wildcats, the stiff competition awaiting them on the path to the Tournament Championship is something they look forward to.
"We've only ever won one (SEC Tournament), which is in '92," said Emery. "So it's not like this is just old hat for us going down there, and we can just set it aside. We're going down there to win."
Because of the number of nationally ranked teams in the SEC, for the No. 6 Wildcats (24-4, 11-0 SEC), who enter the as the No. 1 seed and had won't play until Friday with a first round bye, winning the conference tournament would go a long way in ensuring one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
"If we would go down there and win the tournament," said Emery, "We would be a top-four seed in the NCAAs, and that would be a really big thing. That really does help your draw as you're moving forward in the NCAA Tournament."
But not even an SEC Tournament Championship or a high seed going into the NCAA Tournament will satisfy this bunch.
Kentucky has their sights set on something bigger, something more illustrious. Something that even their head coach Dennis Emery hasn't spoke about much to the media.
At least not until Wednesday afternoon.
"We want to get to a Sweet 16. We'd love to get to a Final Four," said Emery of his hopes and expectations for the team.
His players, however, are singing a different tune.
"One of our players reminded me the other day that, 'you know, you keep saying our goal is to get to a Final Four. Our goal is to win a national championship. We wish you would tell the media that,' " said Emery.
Emery previously had spoken of getting deep into the NCAA Tournament as a goal that they had set before the season had started, but it in looking forward, his team has been able to focus on each individual step that could lead them to greatness.
"The thing that we've done very well this year, better than any year here I've ever coached," said Emery, "These guys have really taken it one match at a time. It's something, as a coach, you stress. I don't think it's something you pound into your players. We have two very good senior leaders and a junior in Anthony Rossi, and I think they've learned from the past that you don't look ahead. Not in our league, and not in the NCAAs."
A big reason for that, the ability to focus on take each match "one match at a time," is the competitive nature of this group. They have a desire to win, they genuinely love the sport, and the thrill of competing manifests itself in the way this team plays. This starts from the top with seniors Eric Quigley and Alex Musialek, two of the top players in the country, along with Rossi.
That attitude has seemingly permeated through a group that lives together in an apartment complex. They've all bought in. Though many of the events are individual, each player has adopted a winner's mentality to help take this team to such a high level.
"The thing about this team is, it's the most competitive group I've seen one to six," said Emery. "They all love to win, they all love tennis, and you don't always have that mix of people who love to compete, love to win, and love the game."
Quigley is a player who loves to win. He loves it so much, in fact, that he rarely loses. The Pee Wee Valley, Ky. native has saved his best for last going 45-6 on the season including an undefeated 11-0 in conference play his senior year. Those numbers are good for third overall in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll for the second consecutive week.
For his coach, this season has been one of, if not Emery's best, during his tenure at the University of Kentucky. In his 30th year of service at Kentucky, the two-time SEC Coach of the Year and two-time runner-up for NCAA Coach of the Year, is certain to have more accolades coming his way if his team reaches the goals they've set.
It was evident Wednesday when Emery talked just how excited he was about his team and how much he looked forward to this weekend and beyond. And while there are still, hopefully, many matches to be played this season, he's elated with how this team, after losing two very good players, have matured and exceeded expectations.
"Our guys have come to play every match," said Emery, "And just from a personal standpoint, it's been very good to see how professional our players have become. We knew we were the best team athletically in the country, we were not sure we were the best team in the country competitively or emotionally. And to this point, we've been right there with anybody."
Every Tuesday, UK Athletics recognizes outstanding performances for our student-athletes. These are the honorees for the week ending Sunday, Apr. 15:
Softball: Lauren Cumbess
In the series-clinching victory vs. No. 10 Georgia, sophomore pitcher Lauren Cumbess did the unthinkable. In just her second start in SEC action and against a top-10 ranked team with a .276 batting average and a .463 slugging percentage, Cumbess pitched her first career no-hitter. She limited the Bulldogs to a mere five base runners, with three reaching by way of a walk one on a hit by pitch and one on an error. She struck out seven in her second shutout win of the season. It marked the first no-hitter of the season for the Wildcats, and the first no-hitter against the Bulldogs since former Tennessee All-American Monica Abbott turned the trick in 2007. No UGA base runner advanced past second base in the game to add to her impressive performance.
Not only did Cumbess turn in the best pitching performance of the season for the Wildcats, she was equally impressive offensively for UK this week. She batted .471 for the week with a team-high eight hits and two doubles. Cumbess contributed in nearly every scoring inning for the Wildcats as she has found her stride and currently leads UK with a .409 average in SEC action. She had a career-high three-hit performance in UK's win over Arkansas, while also notching two hits in three other games this week.
Softball: Emily Jolly
Sophomore Emily Jolly had simply the best week of her career in helping lead the Wildcats to three SEC victories including taking two from No. 10 Georgia. Jolly logged a team-high .500 batting average with a 7-for-14 combined performance at the dish. She scored a team-high five times, drove in six runs and hit two homers and provided an offensive spark nearly every time the Wildcats needed one. In the opening victory over Arkansas, Jolly had a career-high three-hit performance which included a solo homer in the fifth inning. In the nationally televised victory over Georgia, Jolly plated the first run of the game with a sacrifice bunt before hitting a solo homer as an insurance run in the sixth inning. Jolly is currently on a career-long eight-game hitting streak. She also charted a perfect 1.000 fielding clip in splitting time between second base and center field for the Wildcats while logging 11 putouts and nine assists for the week. She played a part in eight of UK's 13 scoring innings this week.
Baseball: Corey Littrell
For the fourth consecutive weekend, Kentucky turned to Corey Littrell to start the finale of a series with the outcome of the set hanging in the balance ... Littrell delivered his fourth consecutive win, with his sixth quality start of the season, tossing 6.1 innings on short rest, allowing only one run with three strikeouts ... Littrell has paced the UK rotation in the Sunday spot all year, sporting a 6-0 record and a 1.95 ERA in nine starts, tossing 55.1 innings, allowing 14 walks and striking out 48.
Baseball: Thomas McCarthy
Senior third baseman Thomas McCarthy led UK during a four-game week at the plate, leading UK to its first series win at No. 9 Arkansas since the 2002 season, with UK snapping a nine-game home series winning streak of the Razorbacks ... McCarthy hit .471 (8-for-17) during the week with five doubles, three RBI, 13 total bases and a .765 slugging percentage ... McCarthy batted .462 (6-for-13) during the weekend series at Arkansas, with four doubles and three RBI ... McCarthy went 2-for-4 during a rivalry game with No. 19 Louisville, including his first double of the week ... In the series-opener at Arkansas, McCarthy went a season-best 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI ... In the second game of the series, McCarthy collected a pair of hits, including a double down the opposite-field line, sparking a UK comeback rally to even the series ... In the rubber-match win over Arkansas, McCarthy again ripped a double, leading off the inning that led to UK's two runs in the 2-1 win ... On the year, McCarthy has hit .319 (45-for-141) with 13 doubles, five homers and 23 RBI.
Men's tennis: Alex Musialek
Grabbed two singles wins over ranked opponents during the week, taking doen No. 38 Roy Kalmanovich and No. 94 Gonzales Austin. Has won five of his last six matches, including four against top-100 ranked players.
Men's tennis: Eric Quigley
Won both his singles matches on the week, defeating highly ranked foes in both matches. Started the week with a victory over No. 5 Dennis Nevolo, before taking down No. 34 Charlie Jones on Saturday. The victory over Jones sealed a undefeated regular season in conference play, ending 11-0 vs. SEC foes. It was also the decisive fourth point for Kentucky.
Men's tennis
- Kentucky posted two impressive wins over the week to conclude regular-season action, defeating No. 23 Illinois and No. 43 Vanderbilt. The win against Vanderbilt sealed the outright SEC Championship for Kentucky, who went 11-0 in league play for the first time in school history.
- The victory over Vanderbilt completes a nine-match winning streak to end the season for Kentucky. During those nine matches, the Wildcats have defeated some of the best teams in the nation, posting wins over six teams that are currently ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's top 25.
- UK won both doubles points during the week, moving to 17-0 this season when it wins the doubles point. Seniors Eric Quigley and Alex Musialek, along with junior Anthony Rossi and sophomore Alejandro Gomez went 2-0 in singles on the week.
- UK receives a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament and will play the winner of LSU-Vanderbilt in the second round Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
Baseball
- Facing its toughest test in an historically unprecedented season, No. 1 Kentucky baseball traveled to Baum Stadium and won a series at No. 9 Arkansas last weekend for the first time since 2002 and just the second time in the history of the program. UK won two of the three games at Arkansas, also suffering a midweek loss to No. 19 Louisville during the four-game week.
- The Wildcats are continuing the best start to a season in the history of the program, with its 11-4 opening through the first half of the 30-game league schedule. UK's series win at Arkansas was the first in a nine-game home series span for the Razorbacks, and UK's doubleheader sweep on Saturday was the first allowed by Arkansas to one team since the 1996 season.
- UK leads the nation in wins, sits atop the SEC standings, own an 11-2 record in one-run games and a 9-4 record in games against top-25 teams. The Wildcats have opened up the year with series wins over No. 2 South Carolina, Tennessee, No. 18 Georgia, No. 10 Ole Miss and No. 9 Arkansas.
Softball
- The Kentucky softball team charted a 3-2 week against Arkansas and Georgia to keep the Wildcats in the hunt for postseason play. The series victory over the top-10 ranked Bulldogs is just the second time in school history UK has taken a series from Georgia and first since 2000.
- The sophomore duo of Emily Jolly and Lauren Cumbess were instrumental in leading the Wildcats. Jolly batted .500 with a team-high five runs scored, six RBI and a pair of homers. Jolly played a part in eight of UK's 13 scoring innings this week.
- Sophomore Lauren Cumbess put the exclamation point on a tremendous pitching performance by UK's staff. Senior Chanda Bell limited Georgia to just one-hit and one-run in the opening game of the series. Cumbess topped her teammate with the first no-hitter of her career in the series-clinching victory on Saturday. Cumbess allowed just five base runners while striking out seven in the win. It was the first no-hitter for UK since April of 2011 and the first thrown against Georgia since former Tennessee All-American Monica Abbott turned the trick in 2007. In 14 innings of two wins over the Bulldogs, UK pitchers limited Georgia to one hit and 11 total base runners.
- Cumbess was also a spark offensively with a .471 batting average and a pair of doubles. Senior Brittany Cervantes homered three times in five games and has hit six in the last eight games for UK.
Track and field
- Keilah Tyson won the 200m dash at the Border Battle Kentuckiana with a UK freshman record time of 23.68. Tyson's time is the third fastest 200m in UK history and is her fourth UK freshman record.
- Terence Boyd had career-best marks in the long jump and triple jump. Boyd's long jump of 24-04.50 is the fifth best in UK history, and his triple jump of 50-00.50 is the eighth best in school history.
- Kayla Parker won the 100m hurdles with a career-best time of 13.72, the seventh fastest time in UK history. Parker also had a career-best long jump mark of 18-08.75.
- Kentucky's 4x100m relay team of Julie Nunn, Kayla Parker, Shiara Robinson and Keilah Tyson finished first with a time of 45.28, the fourth-fastest in UK history.
Women's tennis
- The women's tennis team faced No. 24 Vanderbilt for its last match of the regular season. The Wildcats fell to the Commodores, 7-0.
- Freshman Stephanie Fox and sophomore Misha Testerman grabbed a doubles victory for the Cats, defeating Megan Gorney and Nelly Redeva, 8-5.
- The Wildcats will next travel to Oxford, Miss., for the SEC Championships. As the 11th seed, they will face 6th-seeded South Carolina at 10 a.m. ET on April 19.
Upcoming schedule
Tuesday, April 17
Baseball hosts Cincinnati - 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 18
Softball at Ole Miss (DH) - 5:00 p.m. /7:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 19
Women's tennis vs. South Carolina - 10:00 a.m. (Oxford, Miss.)
Friday, April 20
Women's tennis SEC Quarterfinals - 10:00 a.m. (Oxford, Miss.)
Men's tennis vs. Vanderbilt/LSU - 3:00 p.m. (Starkville, Miss.)
Softball at Mississippi State - 6:00 p.m.
Baseball hosts LSU - 6:30 p.m.
Women's golf at SEC Championships (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Men's golf at SEC Championships (St. Simons Island, Ga.)
Track and field at Polytan Invitational (Bloomington, Ind.)
Saturday, April 21
Women's tennis SEC Semifinals - 11:00 a.m. (Oxford, Miss.)
Softball at Mississippi State - 1:00 p.m.
Baseball hosts LSU - 2:00 p.m.
Men's tennis SEC Semifinals - 3:00 p.m. (Starkville, Miss.)
Football hosts Blue/White Scrimmage - 6:00 p.m.
Women's golf at SEC Championships (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Men's golf at SEC Championships (St. Simons Island, Ga.)
Track and field at Polytan Invitational (Bloomington, Ind.)
Sunday, April 22
Baseball hosts LSU - 1:00 p.m.
Women's tennis SEC Finals - 1:00 p.m. (Oxford, Miss.)
Men's tennis SEC Finals - 2:00 p.m. (Starkville, Miss.)
Softball at Mississippi State - 2:00 p.m.
Women's golf at SEC Championships (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Men's golf at SEC Championships (St.
Simons Island, Ga.)
After completing a perfect regular season in Southeastern Conference play, Kentucky men's tennis has earned the top seed in the SEC Tournament. Tournament play begins on Thursday, but the Wildcats won't take court in Starkville, Miss., until Friday, when they'll face either Vanderbilt or LSU. Here's the complete bracket:
Kentucky defeated Vanderbilt 6-1 on Saturday to clinch the SEC regular season championship outright. (Steve Harp, UK Athletics)
UK's all-time singles win leader, Quigley is the most decorated player in the history of the Kentucky men's tennis program. He's played No. 1singles for most of his career, winning matches against some of the nation's best players in conference play, the Southeastern Conference Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
He has logged too many accomplishments to list, but after Saturday's regular season finale, a new one shoots to the top of the list. With a 6-1 win over Vanderbilt, the Wildcats clinched an outright SEC championship, completing a spotless 11-0 run through what most agree to be the nation's best conference. Not only that, he did it all playing alongside fellow senior Alex Musialek, the classmate he has come to call a close friend.
"How many people get to say their Senior Day is a chance to clinch the SEC outright?" Quigley said. "I'm right next to one of my best friends and we're both in the stadium and we're both seniors and we both win. All the good things that have happened these last four years, it all came down to today and it was awesome."
Quigley has been the anchor of the Cats' success all season, and it was no different against the Commodores. Teaming with Panav Jha, he helped lead UK to a doubles victory as the Cats moved to 17-0 on the season when winning the crucial doubles point. In singles, Quigley defeated No. 34 Charlie Jones in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3 and finishes SEC singles play unbeaten, just like his team.
Having fought through the rigors of SEC for four years now, Quigley has a full appreciation for just how significant it is to go unbeaten in the regular season. Reflecting on his freshman season, when the Cats lost five conference matches and fell in the NCAA Tournament's second round, the Pewee Valley, Ky., native finds the enormity of the accomplishment hard to fathom.
"When I came in, I would have never dreamed we would run the table in the SEC as a team. I was just lucky to have a chance to play as a freshman I thought," Quigley said. "For all these good things that have happened to me at Kentucky, I can only thank (associate head coach) Cedric (Kauffmann) and (head coach) Dennis (Emery) that have helped me get to this place, because I certainly wouldn't have done it alone or without those great coaches."
Emery has even more experience in this league than Quigley having coached at UK for three decades now. He began the season optimistic this Kentucky team could be among the best he's seen, but he could not have imagined this.
"Eight of the top 21 teams in the country are in the SEC, so to win it and to run the table and go 11-0, is just quite an accomplishment," Emery said. "I really didn't think at the beginning of the year that our team would do this. I feel like they've just really come together. Overachieve is maybe not the right word, but achieve to their maximum potential and it's very difficult to do."
In assigning the credit for the title - and there's plenty to go around - Emery looks first to the two seniors who have helped reestablish his program among the nation's elite.
"It's a really special time for us with Eric and Alex," Emery said. "They're both so committed to the program. They're both so committed to winning. When they came here, we were coming off probably the only bad year we've had in 20 years or something, so when they came here, we weren't where we're at right now. The reason we are there is because of Eric and Alex both."
For all his individual brilliance, Quigley has always been about the team, and his approach was rewarded last season with a trip to the Elite Eight. But never before has he been surrounded by such a balanced, talented group. Really, it feels to Quigley like his entire college career has been building to this senior sendoff.
"It's awesome, and it takes a lot of pressure off everyone's shoulders on the team knowing, 'Oh, if I don't win, we can win on all the other five courts or doubles,' " Quigley said. "It's really good knowing everyone's got a great chance out there. It makes it a lot more special knowing everyone's contributing all the time."
Sunday's SEC-clinching win and the ensuing celebration may have felt like a conclusion - especially when Quigley was on the receiving end of much of the Gatorade shower intended for Emery - but the Wildcats' primary goals remain in front of them. In his post-match address to the team, Emery delivered this message.
"That we need to keep going," Emery said. "That it's great to celebrate and it's fantastic what we've done and that we're very proud, but our goal was to win the conference and to go the Final Four. It wasn't just to win the conference, so we've got a lot in front of us."
Knowing the focus and work ethic that Quigley has helped instill in this team, that's not going to be an issue. It also doesn't hurt that the Cats believe they are playing their best tennis of the year heading into next weekend's SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament to follow.
"If there's a good time to play your best tennis, it's for sure right now and I think everybody can keep it going," Quigley said. "We got a lot more. (We have to) turn around and get ready starting Monday for the SEC Tournament, which starts later this week. We're going to celebrate for a little bit, but we got to get back to work soon."
