Big Blue Sports Rundown: Madness Edition

Every week we'll do a quick rundown of the UK Athletic Schedule. Yes, this is just reposting info you can find at the UK Athletics Website. At least it'll be reposted in a nice concise manner.

Men's & Women's Basketball -- Just a practice on Friday in our house. No Biggie.

Women's Volleyball -- The winning ways are paying off for the team, as they have entered the Division I Coaches Top 25 poll for the first time since 1993. Winning last week against Tennessee and Auburn padded their 12-game winning streak. This week is a true test for the Wildcats, as they visit #9 Florida Friday night, and then visit a tough South Carolina on Sunday.

Men's Soccer -- UK tripped last Saturday, falling to Xavier 1-0. There were a total of 26 fouls issued in the match, with Sophomore midfielder C.J. Tappel and Wildcat coach Ian Collins given red cards. Both Tappel and Coach Collins will be forced to miss tonight's matchup against #15 Tulsa in Oklahoma at 7PM. On Sunday South Carolina meets the Wildcats in Lexington at 2PM. You can attend the match free if you bring a ticket from Saturday's South Carolina football game.

With the loss to Xavier, Kentucky record stands with 5 wins, 3 losses, 2 ties. They are 1-0 in C-USA standings. (In case you didn't know already, the Men's Soccer team competes in C-USA instead of the SEC has no men's soccer league. Kentucky and South Carolina joined C-USA officially in 2005.)

Men's Football -- Hosting South Carolina. Everybody bring chocolate syrup and flour!

Women's Soccer -- The Wildcats lost both big games last weekend: losing a 2-goal lead to lose to #13 Florida 3-2 on Sunday, and allowing 2 goals for South Carolina and scoring none themselves on Friday. This puts pressure on the Wildcats as they start a 4-game road trip, beginning with visits at Tennessee on Friday and Georgia on Sunday. The team needs to pick up some victories during this trip, as the SEC Women's Soccer tournament is limited to only 8 teams.

Men's Tennis -- This week the men are competing in the ITA All-American Championships. In the qualifying draw, Wildcats Eric Quigley and Brad Cox lost in the first round. Quigley, a freshman, advanced three rounds in the pre-qualifier over the weekend, which netted him an invite to the qualifier. Later this week, senior Bruno Agostinelli (ranked 19th in the pre-season rankings) will play in the singles main draw. Also Agostinelli will match up with Brad Cox for the doubles main draw. They are ranked 15th in the national pre-season poll.

Women's Tennis -- Wrapping up the women's ITA All-American results, the Wildcats participating in the qualifying rounds could not make it to the main draw. Sophomore Megan Broderick, junior Christine Johnston, and senior Carolina Escamilla all managed to get to the third round of their respective competitions, but couldn't advance further. The team is competing next in two other tournaments: The ITA Southeast Regional in Winston Salem, N.C., and the June Stewart Invitational in Nashville, Tenn. Both tournaments start October 17th.

Cross Country -- Our Wildcats did not show strong against elite competition last weekend at the Notre Dame Invitational. The Men's team finished 22nd out of 25 teams, and the Women finished 16th out of 23 teams. The men were led by a 28th overall finish by Sophomore Adam Henken, and senior Jessica Ortman finished 42nd overall to lead the women. The teams won't compete again until the Penn State National Invitational on October 17th.

Women's Golf -- The Wildcats moved up on the third and final day of the Tar Heel Invitational, securing a tie for 13th place overall (out of 18 teams). Junior Erika Still led the Wildcats, shooting 74-76-76 (+10), good for 24th place individually. Next up for the Wildcats is the Mercedes Benz Invitational in Knoxville this weekend.

Rifle -- The Rifle team starts its season with a match at DEFINITE ARTICLE Ohio State University on Saturday. The Rifle team was placed 3rd in the preseason Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association poll. They are also expected to win the Great American Rifle Conference, which includes preseason #2 West EXPLETIVE Virginia.

Men's Golf -- The Wildcats haven't seen action since the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate on September 26th through 28th. In that tournament, senior Ben Fuqua was the low man overall by shooting -15 for the tournament, and Kentucky finished 2nd (out of 17 teams). Ben's dominate performance prompted the SEC to name him the Player of the Month. Up next for the Wildcats is The Prestige at PGA West set for October 13th and 14th.