The 11th-ranked Kentucky men's tennis team couldn't defeat its third top-20 opponent in as many days, losing 4-0 to No. 17 Florida in the championship match of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Gainesville, Fla., on Sunday.
The finals appearance for Kentucky (26-8) was its second in school history and its first since 1992. The Wildcats won the tournament that year.
Seniors Brad Cox and Alberto Gonzalez were named to the all-tournament team. Cox teamed with junior Eric Quigley to take down two top-30 ranked doubles teams, and was 1-1 in singles. Gonzalez won a key doubles match Saturday against Georgia and was 2-1 in singles.
Although UK fell in the finals, the tournament run from beginning to end was historic for the UK program. Kentucky defeated two top-20 teams at the event, including No. 5 Georgia.
The win over the Bulldogs was the first for Kentucky since the 2003 season and its first outside of Lexington since 1997.
"We are very disappointed to lose but we felt we had some opportunities to win after winning four first sets in singles," UK Coach Dennis Emery said. "Any time you beat a great program like Georgia, it takes a lot out of you emotionally. I thought that we emotionally gave everything that we had today, but against a good team like Florida that wasn't going to be enough today."
