Football - The game with Mississippi State marked UK's third-consecutive game against an undefeated, top-20 opponent. Previous times in school history UK has played three straight ranked opponents include 1958, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1988, 2007, 2009 and 2011. - The UK defense limited Mississippi State to seven points in the second half. That ties the lowest scoring output by an opponent vs. UK this season. Kent State also had just seven points in the second half. - Freshmen quarterbacks Jalen Whitlow and Patrick Towles led the UK offense. Whitlow scored UK's second touchdown of the game on a three-yard rush, while Towles marched UK down the field for its first score when he connected with La'Rod King for a 32-yard touchdown. Demarco Robinson led UK in receiving with six catches for 43 yards.
Volleyball - Sophomore Lauren O'Conner tallied 11 kills on a career-high .556 percentage to lead the way in a win over Ole Miss. Freshman Kayla Tronick made her first career start and totaled 10 kills for a staggering .833 clip as she led a middle blocking unit that was flawless on the night. - Against the Gators, the Wildcats earned a 2-0 lead into the locker room, before succumbing to a gut-wrenching comeback by the Gators. UK limited the high octane offensive attack of Florida to just .197 for the match. O'Conner again led the way for UK with a career-high 18 kills on a sizzling .421 percentage. - Senior Stephanie Klefot had a match-high 22 digs to lead the back line defense. With 37 digs on the weekendshe has totaled 1,708 for her career and moves into seventh place all-time in the SEC career record books. Women's soccer - Arin Gilliland scored her fourth goal of the season against Missouri, which now sits in second on the team for most goals scored. The assist on the Wildcat's lone weekend goal went to senior captain Alyssa Telang, who tallied her second point on the season. - The overtime game Friday night was UK's fourth straight, which now stands as a new program record. - The loss Friday was UK's first to a top-25 team all season long, as the Wildcats were 2-0-1 previously against ranked teams. Men's soccer - Kentucky played its fifth and sixth ranked opponents of the year during the week, as the high-powered Hoosiers came to Lexington on Wednesday and secured a 4-1 win at the UK Soccer Complex. The loss to the tradition-laden Hoosiers snapped a five-match unbeaten streak for the Wildcats, the longest streak for UK since the 2009 season. - UK then ventured to Dallas to face league-leader SMU on a bitterly cold night at Westcott Field, with the Mustangs riding a penalty kick in the 65th minute and a late open-goal tally to a 2-0 win to stretch their unbeaten streak to nine games and improve to 4-0 in conference play.
Women's tennis - Sophomore Stephanie Fox led Kentucky at the Roberta Alison Fall Classic, winning the Green Draw after defeating Linn Timmermann of Georgia State 6-2, 6-2 in the championship match. - Nadia Ravita and Edmee Morin-Kougoucheff both finished second in their respective draws with Revita falling in three sets. Morin-Kougoucheff fell in the championship of the Pink Draw to Nayara Moraes of Middle Tennessee. - The tandem of Kirsten Lewis and Ravita fell short of winning the Teal Draw. The duo lost in the championship match 8-5 following an 8-2 win in the first round and an 8-6 semifinal win over Northwestern. Men's tennis - Tom Jomby defeated No. 14 Ben McLachlan of California 7-6, 6-3 to earn the upset. In the second round, the Nates, France, native earned a straight-set 6-2, 7-6 victory over Nathan Pascha of Ole Miss. His run came to an end Saturday to No. 7 Raymond Sarmiento of USC (California) in three sets. - Anthony Rossi came in as the No. 10 overall seed, but fell in the opening round in a three-set match.
Cross country - Luis Orta and Cally Macumber were named SEC cross Country Athletes of the Week after stellar performances at the Greater Louisville Classic. - Macumber finished second individually with a 5,000 meter time of 16:55.14, a mark, which currently stands as the best 5K time in the SEC so far this season. She now finished inside the top two in all three meets the Wildcats have competed in this campaign. - The senior came in ahead of Washington's Katie Flood, the defending Pac-12 cross country champion and a top-10 finisher at the 2011 NCAA Championships. - Orta earned the award for his 12th-place time of 24:06.96 over 8K. - He earned the same award three times last season. It was the third-consecutive top-20 performance for Orta this year and his ninth-consecutive top-25 finish.
Upcoming schedule
Monday, Oct. 8 Men's golf at Jack Nicklaus Invitational (Dublin, Ohio)
Tuesday, Oct. 9 Men's golf at Jack Nicklaus Invitational (Dublin, Ohio)
Friday, Oct. 12 Women's soccer at Tennessee - 7:00 p.m. Volleyball hosts Mississippi State - 5:00 p.m. Women's golf at Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Saturday, Oct. 13 Football at Arkansas - 7:00 p.m. Men's soccer at UAB - 8:00 p.m. Women's golf at Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.) Cross Country at Pre-Nationals (Louisville, Ky.) Rifle at Nebraska
Sunday, Oct. 14 Women's soccer at Georgia - 2:00 p.m. Volleyball hosts Texas A&M - 1:30 p.m. Men's golf at Querencia Cabo Collegiate (San Jose del Cabo, Mexico) Women's golf at Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
UK Athletics may be in the middle of the offseason, but that doesn't mean its athletes aren't working hard to prepare themselves for next year. If anything, Wildcats from the women's basketball, softball, women's tennis, women's soccer, volleyball and gymnastics teams are working harder than they do during the season.
Kentucky strength and conditioning coach Stephanie Tracey-Simmons is putting athletes through each of those teams through an intense set of summer workouts. The workouts are designed to build strength, endurance and confidence for the upcoming season, but they also have effect of unifying teammates and creating bonds across sports. Jen Smith from the Lexington Herald-Leader has the story:
The UK strength and conditioning coach says it's not her mission to make athletes miserable. She wants to make them tougher and stronger, more confident.
"I always tell the basketball players, 'You guys hate me now, but you're going to love me in March,'" Simmons says.
By the time basketball season rolls around and the season starts in November, Simmons is sure of one thing. "They will have the confidence that they can run anyone in the country down and wear them out."
There's a competitive portion to the summer workouts. At the end of it, each sport's coach is provided with a chart of how each player finished, not only individually, but also against players from the other participating sports.
"It's a big competition at the end of the summer to see whose team performed the best," says Bria Goss, a sophomore guard on the basketball team. "Also, individually you're competing against other sports. We all push each other and get better."
With four different teams adding to Kentucky's tally, UK Athletics is fast closing in on Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart's benchmark of 15 conference or national championships by the year 2015.
With the work of all UK's varsity teams, the Wildcats are also on the cusp of Barnhart's goals in the classroom.
For the second consecutive semester, UK student-athletes narrowly fell short of the 3.0 department-wide grade point average set forth by Barnhart. All UK student-athletes combined for 2.97 GPA and the GPA for scholarship athletes was a slightly higher 2.98 GPA. The average team GPA for the spring semester was 3.07.
"I am very proud of the effort our student-athletes logged in the classroom this semester," Barnhart said. "We fell just shy of our GPA goal and will work tirelessly to reach it, but I am happy with the academic culture we have fostered at UK. I appreciate everything our student-athletes, coaches and support staff have done to make that happen."
Among all teams, women's tennis had the highest GPA at 3.55, while men's cross country had the highest GPA among men's teams at 3.29. Of UK's 20 Division I teams, 12 had a GPA of over 3.0, including the championship-winning men's basketball, rifle and men's tennis teams. ***See below for complete grade information for each sport***
The work of the men's basketball team was particularly impressive. The Wildcats brought home the program's eighth national championship, spending essentially the entire month of March away from campus for tournament play, yet still excelling academically.
Five players off this year's championship team opted to turn professional early - all projected first-round picks and three in the lottery - but also demonstrated their commitment to both UK and eventually graduating by finishing the semester strong as full-time students. Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague - three so-called "one and dones" - combined for a spring GPA well above 3.0. Additionally, the lone seniors on the team, Darius Miller and Eloy Vargas, each received their diplomas at May commencement.
"All these kids are good kids," John Calipari said. "We had a (3.12) GPA as a team for this term with five players who are leaving early, so all this stuff bitter old men say that they don't go to class, it's not true."
The men's basketball team is just the most high-profile example in a department full of student-athletes committed to excelling both on and off the field. With spring sports yet to be recognized, 90 Wildcats have already been named to the Southeastern Conference Fall and Winter Honor Rolls. UK student-athletes have also volunteered over 4,000 total hours to various charitable causes.
"I am excited about all the great things our student-athletes are doing," Barnhart said. "They do so much to enrich our athletic department, our University and the Lexington community. We are blessed to be a part of their development and take that responsibility seriously."
Baseball - With No. 1 LSU coming to Cliff Hagan Stadium, No. 2 Kentucky won the series over top-ranked LSU with wins in the second and third game of the series. Kentucky's series win is the first over a No. 1 ranked team in the modern era of the program, with the Wildcats producing record crowds during the three-game set. - UK leads the nation in wins, sits atop the SEC standings and owns a 12-3 record in one-run games and an 11-5 record in games against top-25 teams. The Wildcats have opened up the year with series wins over No. 2 South Carolina, at Tennessee, at No. 18 Georgia, No. 10 Ole Miss, at No. 9 Arkansas and No. 1 LSU. The Wildcats are off to the best start to a season in the over 100-year history of the program, with its SEC start the best in program annals. - The Wildcats have been paced by a team offense that leads the conference in nearly every category, hitting .316 as a team, with a .488 slugging and a .403 on-base percentage, belting 47 homers in 41 games and stealing 36 bases. Individually, freshman centerfielder Austin Cousino leads UK with a .351 average, with a league-leading 17 doubles, seven homers and 34 RBI, stealing nine bases.
Football - The Kentucky football team held its annual Blue/White Game Saturday evening at Commonwealth Stadium. The first teamers, who went by Kentucky on the scoreboard, won 35-28 over the second team (Wildcats). The first team outscored the second team 35-14 overall, as the Wildcats were spotted 14 points as part of the spring game format. - Quarterback Maxwell Smith led Kentucky to victory, totaling 353 yards on 29-of-45 passing and two touchdowns. - Wide receiver Demarco Robinson led Kentucky's receiving corps with nine catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. The Wildcats' leading receiver was tight end Anthony Kendrick with three catches for 40 yards and one touchdown. - On defense, linebacker Tyler Brause was the Wildcats' leading tackler with seven, while linebacker Avery Williamson charted a team-high eight tackles, including two for loss and one sack for the Kentucky squad.
Men's tennis - The sixth-ranked Kentucky men's tennis team made its second consecutive appearance in the Southeastern Conference Tournament finals over the weekend before falling to fourth-ranked Georgia in the title match. This was Kentucky's third all-time appearance in the final match. - Kentucky defeated No. 43 Vanderbilt and No. 13 Ole Miss to advance to the finals. The win over VU was Kentucky's 25th of the season, helping UK surpass the 25-win mark for three consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. - Senior No. 3 Eric Quigley led Kentucky with a 2-0 record in singles action, helping him break the school record for most wins in a single season with a 47-6 record this year. Kentucky junior Anthony Rossi and sophomore Tom Jomby were named to the SEC All-Tournament team after the final match.
Softball - The Kentucky softball team traveled to the state of Mississippi for a five-game road swing. UK began the week well with a sweep of Ole Miss, which marked the fifth consecutive time the Wildcats had earned a series from the Rebels. - Both senior pitchers in Chanda Bell and Rachel Riley earned victories, while freshman Griffin Joiner led the bats with an .800 average against the Rebels. - Mississippi State took all three against UK during the weekend series, winning all three outings by just one run each game. The final two wins came in walk-off fashion.
Track and field - Junior Luis Orta finished ninth in the 3,000-meter run at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., running the third-fastest 3,000m run (8:49.45) in school history. - Sophomore Brandon Bagley ran a career-best time in the 400m hurdles Saturday, clocking in with a 53.93 to finish third. - The women's 4x100m relay team finished first with a time of 45.62, Andrew Evans won the men's discus with a 176-02 and Terri-Ann Grant won the women's high jump at 5-10.50. - Jennifer Svoboda threw a season-best mark in the women's shot put with a mark of 50-08.75.
Women's tennis - The women's tennis team traveled to Oxford, Miss., for the SEC Championship. The 11th-seeded Wildcats faced 6th-seeded South Carolina in the first round of the tournament. - In doubles play, the 82nd-ranked team of Jessica Stiles and Caitlin McGraw took on No. 37 Dijana Stojic and Jaklin Alawi in a highly-competitive match. UK mounted a late comeback to hold off Stojic and Alawi from taking match-point on multiple occasions, holding the score at 7-6. Ultimately, Stojic and Alawi were able to barely edge out Stiles and McGraw to take the 8-6 win and the doubles point. - In singles play, multiple Wildcats found strength in their second set. Unfortunately, the late surges were not enough to grab the singles wins. South Carolina secured its win as the No. 4 and No. 5 matches ended simultaneously to give the Gamecocks a 5-0 victory. Women's golf - The University of Kentucky women's golf team placed ninth at the 2012 SEC Championship. - Senior Ashlee Rose led the Wildcats, finishing in a tie for 12th at 14-over-par 230. Rose led Kentucky with 35 pars, the second most by an individual on the weekend. - Junior Betsie Johnson finished in a tie for 29th at 21-over-par 237.
Men's golf - Kentucky finished seventh at the SEC Championship, going 6-under-par in the final three holes to finish at 26-over-par total. - Joseph Barr and Stephen Powers led UK, tying for 19th at 4-over-par. - Kentucky's final team score of 868 was its second-best score at the conference tournament since 2006.
Upcoming schedule
Tuesday, April 23 Softball hosts Morehead State - 4:00 p.m. Baseball at Louisville - 6:00 p.m. Thursday, April 25 Track and field at Penn Relays (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Friday, April 26 Softball at Florida - 6:00 p.m. Baseball at Vanderbilt - 7:30 p.m. Track and field at Penn Relays (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Saturday, April 27 Softball at Florida - 1:00 p.m. Baseball at Vanderbilt - 3:00 p.m. Track and field at Penn Relays (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Sunday, April 28 Softball at Florida - Noon Baseball at Vanderbilt - 2:00 p.m. Track and field at Payton Jordan Invitational (Palo Alto, Calif.)
- 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.)
Baseball - Kentucky completed its first series win over Ole Miss since the 2008 season, as the Wildcats won the set over a blistering-hot Ole Miss club that entered the weekend fresh off a series win over consensus No. 1 Florida. UK posted a 3-2 win in the opener, suffered a 9-3 loss in the second game, before riding a strong pitching effort from Corey Littrell to a series-clinching win on Sunday, 8-3. - UK has opened up the 2012 season with a 30-3 mark, the best start to a season in school history, leading the NCAA in wins and pacing the conference atop the standings for the second consecutive week. - UK's 9-3 start to conference play is also a program best, with UK running up a school-record 21-game home winning streak earlier in the year and a program-best 22 game winning streak to open the season, the second-longest streak in the storied history of the SEC. UK now owns a 7-2 record against teams ranked in the top 25, with UK also boasting a 9-1 record in one-run games in 2012.
Men's tennis - Behind a dominating performance in singles action that included a come-from-behind effort from senior No. 7 Eric Quigley for the decisive fourth point of the match, UK clinched a share of the SEC regular-season title with a 5-2 win over No. 14 Ole Miss on Sunday. UK began the weekend with a 6-1 win over No. 10 Mississippi State. This is the first SEC title since UK won the overall SEC Championship in 1992. - Quigley was the star of the weekend for Kentucky, winning both of his singles matches to increase his impressive record to 10-0 against SEC foes. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., defeated two highly ranked foes during the week, including No. 15 Artem Ilyushin and No. 19 Nik Scholtz. Quigley's win over Scholtz was the match clincher vs. Ole Miss. - The two wins over the weekend takes Kentucky's record against top 25 teams this season to 9-3, while UK has earned 29 wins over top-25 teams since the start of the 2009 season. UK also continued to perform well at home, boosting its home record to 58-10 since the start of the 2009 season.
Gymnastics - UK concluded the season with a fifth-place showing at the NCAA Champaign Regional behind a team score of 194.750. - The Wildcats saved the best performance of the night for last, scoring a team score of 48.95 on uneven bars. Junior Caitlyn Ciokajlo led the way for Kentucky with a career-high tying 9.875, which ranked her fifth overall at the meet. - UK seniors Storey Morris and Whitney Rose ended their collegiate careers with strong showings at the event. Morris posted a team-best 9.825 on balance beam and a 9.8 on both vault and bars, while Rose tied a season best score on bars with a 9.775. Softball - The Kentucky softball team earned a crucial series victory over South Carolina this weekend at home to improve to 5-7 in Southeastern Conference action and remain in the hunt for a spot in the SEC Tournament. - Kentucky was led by the hot-hitting of senior Brittany Cervantes and freshman Griffin Joiner. Cervantes batted .400 for the week, including .500 against the Gamecocks. Cervantes hit homers in all three games against South Carolina, while scoring five times and driving in four runs. Joiner led the offensive unit with a .444 average for the week. She notched a pair of doubles and three runs driven in to help the Wildcat cause. - Senior Rachel Riley also boasted the Wildcat attack with a .400 average and a pair of homers. She was vital in her pitching performance as well. Riley tossed her first shutout of the season in the series-tying victory. She went the distance and struck out five in the win. Senior Chanda Bell earned the other victory in the circle for UK while striking out 10 in a complete-game series-clincher on Sunday. Women's tennis - Women's tennis grabbed its first SEC victory of the season over Mississippi State, posting a final result of 5-1. - In singles play, Jessica Stiles defeated 113th-ranked Alexandra Perper at the No. 1 singles slot, 6-7 (3), 6-1, 1-0 (10). Khristina Blajkevitch also found herself in a tight match as she defeated Olesya Tsigvintseva 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (8). Caitlin McGraw and Stephanie Fox also grabbed singles victories for the Cats. - UK next faced No. 16 Ole Miss and fell 7-0. Freshman Edmee Morin-Kougoucheff put up a valiant effort in singles play, falling just short of Erin Stephens at the No. 3 singles slot, 6-7, 4-6.
Men's golf - Men's golf finished 13th at the Gary Koch Invitational, its final tournament of the regular season. - Junior Joseph Barr led Kentucky with a final score of 8-over-par, tying for 38th. - It was the second time this season Barr had the best or tied for the best tournament finish on the team.
Women's golf - The University of Kentucky women's golf team finished 13th at the 2012 Bryan National Collegiate. - Junior Heather Lott finished the weekend in a tie for 35th at 11-over-par 227. - Junior Betsie Johnson led Kentucky with eight birdies on the weekend.
Track and field - Competing at the Florida Relays, junior Shiara Robinson recorded the seventh-best time in the 400m hurdles in UK history with a 1:00.85. - Sophomore Julie Nunn ran the 10th fastest 400m dash in program history, clocking a 55.71. - Freshman Keilah Tyson continued her impressive rookie campaign, missing out on her UK freshman record in the 100m by just 0.01 seconds. - Junior Luis Orta finished fifth in the 5,000m with a time of 14:09.47, while sophomore Allison Peare finished fifth in the 800m. Upcoming schedule
Tuesday, April 10 Baseball hosts Louisville - 6:30 p.m.
Men's basketball - Kentucky advanced to its second-straight Final Four on the heels of an 82-70 win over Baylor in the Elite Eight on Sunday. - Anthony Davis notched his 19th double-double on the season and fifth in the postseason. He finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while adding six blocks and two steals. - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led the Cats in scoring with a team-high 19 points. Doron Lamb (14) and Terrence Jones (12) also scored in double-figures with all of Lamb's points coming in the second half. Jones also added nine rebounds and a career-high six assists. - Kentucky is averaging 88.0 ppg in its four NCAA games. Women's basketball - The Wildcats earned their second trip to the Elite Eight in the last three years after hot shooting from beyond the arc vs. Gongaza. UK hit 12 3-pointers, most ever by UK in an NCAA Tournament game, including a season-high tying five treys from senior Keyla Snowden. - Snowden led UK with 17 points off the bench, while reserve forward Samarie Walker posted her second straight double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Junior All-America candidate A'dia Mathies and Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year Bria Goss followed with 15 and 10 points, respectively. - Connecticut native and sophomore guard Kastine Evans also was a huge factor on the boards as she grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. - Their 28 wins tie the school record set in 2009-10 when the Cats also advanced to the Elite Eight. UK has now won 25-plus games for three consecutive seasons for the first time ever.
Baseball - The second-ranked Kentucky baseball team completed a four-game week on the road with three wins, including a series win at Tennessee and a midweek win at Cincinnati. - The Wildcats will return to action on Tuesday with a midweek game vs. Western Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. ET at Cliff Hagan Stadium, before traveling to No. 17 Georgia for a three-game set, starting Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Foley Field. - Kentucky (24-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) is off to the best start to a season in program history with its 5-1 start to conference play its best since 1992, when UK opened 7-0. - The Wildcats had their record 22-game winning streak snapped on Friday night at UT, before responding to claim the final two games to win the series for the first time in Knoxville since the 2008 campaign.
Gymnastics - Behind an impressive performance on vault, where the Wildcats posted one of their highest team scores of the season with a 49.0, the UK gymnastics team finished in fifth place out of seven teams, tying the best finish in school history at the Southeastern Conference Championships. - Kentucky posted an overall team score of 194.350 at the event to defeat No. 10 Arkansas and No. 15 Auburn. The fifth-place finish for Kentucky ties the best finish in school history. UK finished tied for fifth out of seven teams in 2002, while its best finish at the event was fourth out of six teams in 1996. - UK ends the season with a Regional Qualifying Score of 195.49, which is the second-highest in school history. Kentucky earned the high RQS after its best three-meet sequence in school history, where it posted a 195.875 or higher in three consecutive meets.
Softball - UK earned a 3-1 week with a non-conference road victory at Western Kentucky before capturing its first SEC series of the season by taking two-of-three from No. 18 Auburn. - Senior pitcher Rachel Riley tossed two complete-game victories including the decisive series-clinching win over Auburn. The win over the Tigers marked the ninth career win over a top-25 ranked team for Riley and she also notched her sixth multi-hit game in the win. - Kentucky had a slew of terrific offensive performances over the weekend with senior Brittany Cervantes, junior Kara Dill, sophomores Ginny Carroll, Lauren Cumbess, Emily Gaines, Emily Jolly and Ellen Weaver all converting crucial at-bats into runs for the Wildcats.
Men's tennis - The seventh-ranked UK men's tennis team continued its unblemished mark in SEC action with two league wins over the weekend. Kentucky defeated No. 19 Auburn 4-0 before its 4-1 road win over No. 61 Alabama on Sunday. - UK has now won sixth consecutive matches to start SEC play, which is the Wildcats' best start in league action since the 1988 team went a school-best 8-0. Overall, UK has defeated 13 teams that are currently ranked in the ITA top 61, including five teams that are ranked in the top 25. In league play, the Wildcats have defeated No. 11 Florida, No. 19 Auburn, No. 26 LSU, No. 32 Arkansas, No. 40 South Carolina and No. 61 Alabama. - UK won doubles in both matches, moving its record to 12-0 when it wins the doubles point. Senior Alex Musialek led UK in singles, becoming the 14th player in school history to win 100 career singles matches.
Swimming and diving - The men's swimming and diving teams concluded their seasons at the 2012 NCAA Championships in Seattle, Wash., finishing in 21st, accumulating 35 points. The finish was the highest since the 2009-10 season. - Tyler Reed recorded fifth-place finish, swimming a school-record 42.60 in the 100-freestyle. Reed also swam a 1:34.96 in the 200-free, posting an 11th-place finish. - Greg Ferrucci finished in the top-15 in all three diving events, racking up an 11th-place finish in both the one and three-meter springboard, while finishing 15th on the tower.
Women's tennis - Women's tennis traveled to No. 64 Auburn and fell, 5-2. Junior Jessica Stiles and freshman Stephanie Fox excelled in singles play, defeating both of their opponents. Marni Venter and CeCe Witten also grabbed a doubles win for the Wildcats. - Kentucky hosted tough opponent No. 14 Alabama at the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Complex on Sunday. Witten and Venter once again put on a strong performance in doubles, but could not grab the win. Fox provided fierce competition for Alex Clay at the No. 4 singles slot but narrowly fell, 7-6, 4-6, 1-0 (5). Ultimately, the Cats fell 7-0, to the Crimson Tide.
Men's golf - The men's golf team got off to a fantastic start Sunday in the first round of the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate, shooting a team score of 3-under-par 285, tying for the first round lead. - Kentucky was led by freshman David Snyder, junior Joseph Barr and sophomore Cody Martin, who each find themselves in the top 10. Snyder carded a 2-under-par 70 and is tied for second, while Barr and Martin each shot 1-under-par 71s and are tied for 10th.
Upcoming schedule
Monday, March 26 Men's golf at Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate (Awendaw, S.C. )
Tuesday, March 27 Baseball hosts Western Kentucky - 6:30 p.m. Women's basketball vs. UConn - 7:00 p.m. (Kingston, R.I. ) Men's golf at Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate (Awendaw, S.C.)
Wednesday, March 28 Softball hosts Louisville - 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 29 Track and field at Texas Relays (Austin, Texas)
Friday, March 30 Women's tennis hosts Georgia - 5:00 p.m. Men's tennis at Georgia - 5:00 p.m. Softball at Tennessee - 6:00 p.m. Baseball at Georgia - 7:00 p.m. Track and field at Texas Relays (Austin, Texas)/Yellow Jacket Invitational (Atlanta)
Saturday, March 31 Softball at Tennessee - 2:00 p.m. Baseball at Georgia - 4:00 p.m. Men's basketball vs. Louisville - 6:09 p.m. (Kingston, R.I.) Track and field at Texas Relays (Austin, Texas)/Yellow Jacket Invitational (Atlanta) Sunday, April 1 Women's tennis hosts Tennessee - Noon Men's tennis at Tennessee - 1:00 p.m. Softball at Tennessee - 1:30 p.m. Baseball at Georgia - 2:00 p.m. Women's basketball vs. TBD (Denver)
Men's basketball - On the heels of an 87-71 win over Iowa State in the third round, top-seeded Kentucky earned a rematch against the Indiana Hoosiers, the lone blemish on the Cats' regular-season record. - In a win over Iowa State, UK got a double-double from freshman Anthony Davis (15 points, 12 rebounds). It was his 18th double-double of the season. Three other Wildcats scored in double-figures, including a career-high 24 points from Marquis Teague. Teague also dished out seven assists and Davis added a career-high five assists. - Darius Miller (19) and Doron Lamb (16) also scored in double-digits, while Terrence Jones grabbed 11 rebounds. - Kentucky finished the game shooting 50 percent from 3-point range, hitting 10-of-20. Women's basketball - A balanced scoring effort and a dominating performance on the boards helped No. 12/11 Kentucky defeat McNeese State on Saturday 68-62 and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. - Eight players scored at least six points, led by reserves Keyla Snowden and Azia Bishop who posted double-figure scoring efforts. Snowden, the Southeastern Conference Co-6th Woman of the Year, led the Wildcats in scoring with 11 points, while Bishop came off the bench for 10 points and three blocks in just 16 minutes. Sophomore reserve forward Samarie Walker pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds which tied for the most rebounds by a UK player in the NCAA Tournament. - The Wildcats grabbed a season-high 58 rebounds in the win, the most for UK in the Big Dance and the most since charting a school-record 62 boards vs. Murray State on Nov. 26, 2010.
Baseball - The No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats completed a stellar five-game week with five wins, including a weekend series sweep over No. 2 South Carolina, the two-time defending NCAA Champions. - Kentucky opened up conference play in historic fashion, sweeping the high-octane Gamecocks for the first time since 2006. UK extended its school-record winning streak to 21 games to open the season with the sweep, eclipsing the previous record of 19-0 set to open the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The Wildcats now own the third-longest winning streak in the storied history of the SEC. - Kentucky posted a pair of midweek wins before facing the two-time defending NCAA Champion, the league leader in ERA and the No. 2 ranked team in the nation. Kentucky exploded out of the SEC gate with a walk-off win on Friday, 4-3 with Luke Maile launching a home run to centerfield with the Wildcats trailing 3-2. On Saturday, UK again rallied for a 4-3 win, using a heroic pitching performance from freshman A.J. Reed and sophomore Trevor Gott. Sunday, UK completed the sweep with a first-inning homer from Maile and clutch hitting from senior catcher Michael Williams, with Gott locking down his fifth save of the year. Gymnastics - The gymnastics team continued its recent success by scoring yet another impressive team score defeating Centenary on Saturday with a score of 195.875. The win over Centenary gave the Wildcats its first winning regular season since 2008. - UK defeated Centenary on every event, posting a 48.875 or higher on all four apparatuses. Individually, a UK gymnast took home event honors on each event, including sophomore Audrey Harrison, who won her fourth all-around title of the season. Senior Storey Morris and freshman Kenzie Hedges finished tied for first on vault, while sophomore Caitlyn Ciokajlo won bars, sophomore Kayla Sienkowski and freshman Shannon Mitchell won beam, and sophomore Kayla Hartley won floor. - UK has scored a 195 or higher in five of its last six meets, including a 195.875 or higher in three straight meets. UK's high score Saturday marked the first time in school history the Wildcats have posted three-consecutive team scores of 195.875 or higher.
Softball - Senior Brittany Cervantes hit a game-winning home run to top NC State and lift UK into the championship game of the UK Invitational to highlight the week for the Wildcats. The blast marked the 36th home run of her career and is the new career record for the Wildcats. Cervantes also hit three doubles on the week to aid the Wildcat offensive cause. - Senior Chanda Bell earned a pair of victories for the Wildcats this weekend. In the two wins she tossed 9.2 innings without giving up a run and striking out 21. In a win over UMKC she worked a complete game shutout and struck out 13. It marked the 33rd time in her career she has struck out 10 or more batters in a game.
Track and field - The UK men's and women's track and field teams opened their outdoor seasons at the Bulls Invitational on Saturday. - Sophomore Andrew Evans and freshman Raymond Dykstra won the men's discus and javelin, respectively. Dykstra threw a school-record mark of 69.09m/226-08 en route to his victory. - Kayla Parker had a career-best mark in the long jump and later won the women's 100-meter hurdles with a career-best time. - Sophomore Allison Peare won the women's 1,500m run with a career-best time of 4:28.97, while freshman Keffri Neal finished second in the men's 1,500m.
Women's tennis - The women's tennis team engaged in strong doubles play in its road match against No. 2 Florida but could not overcome the Gators, who grabbed the win, 7-0. - The Wildcats traveled to Coral Gables, Fla., to take on the University of Miami but, due to inclement weather, the match was canceled with no plans of rescheduling due to Kentucky's travel plans. Men's golf - The men's golf team finished ninth at the Schenkel Invitational, carding back-to-back opening rounds of 286 before closing with a 298 for a total of 6-over-par. - Sophomore Cody Martin led UK, finishing in a tie for 21st at 1-under. Martin carded back-to-back opening rounds of 2-under-par before shooting a 3-over-par during Sunday's final round. - Junior Chase Parker remained consistent throughout, shooting 73, 72, 72 to finish tied for 31st at 1-over-par. - Parker has carded seven straight rounds of 74 or better. The Augusta, Ga., native is 7-under-par during that span.
Women's golf - Kentucky finished 11th at the SunTrust Gator Women's Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. - Junior Betsie Johnson led the Wildcats with an 11th place finish at 8-over-par 218. - Sophomore Liz Breed sunk six birdies on the weekend.
Upcoming schedule
Monday, March 19 Men's tennis hosts Baylor - Noon Men's tennis hosts Murray State - 6:00 p.m. Women's basketball vs. Green Bay - 9:45 p.m. (Ames, Iowa)
Wednesday, March 21 Baseball at Cincinnati - 4:00 p.m. Softball at Western Kentucky - 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 22 Men's swimming and diving at NCAA Championships (Federal Way, Wash.)
Friday, March 23 Women's tennis at Auburn - Noon Men's tennis hosts Auburn - 4:00 p.m. Baseball at Tennessee - 6:00 p.m. Softball at Auburn - 7:00 p.m. Men's basketball vs. Indiana - 9:45 p.m. (Atlanta) Men's swimming and diving at NCAA Championships (Federal Way, Wash.) Saturday, March 24 Softball at Auburn - 2:00 p.m. Baseball at Tennessee - 4:00 p.m. Men's swimming and diving at NCAA Championships (Federal Way, Wash.) Gymnastics at SEC Championships (Duluth, Ga.) Sunday, March 25 Women's tennis hosts Alabama - Noon Softball at Auburn - 2:00 p.m. Men's tennis at Alabama - 2:00 p.m. Baseball at Tennessee - 2:00 p.m. Women's basketball vs. TBD (Kingston, R.I. ) Men's golf at Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate (Awendaw, S.C.) Men's basketball vs. Baylor/Xavier (Atlanta)
Guy Ramsey: We're not going to update it daily, but @KentuckyMBB is tweeting out regular updates from that account. read more
Wayne: can you put this on daily update schedule at least until UK takes it over. thx read more
Kyle: I'm very excited I'm. Huge uk fan and really loved Larry. He's a class act. The best part of the read more
Guy Ramsey: He did play well, but this story was not intended as a general recap of the spring game. (Note that read more
trueblujr: Why was Reese Phillips accomplisments in the game completely overlooked. You mentioned Whitlow, Towles and Smith split the reps evenly. read more
