DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's tennis team will open 2022 on Saturday with a doubleheader on the road at Kentucky. The first match is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Complex in Lexington.
 
"We are very excited to start the season," head coach Ryan Meyer said. "Kentucky has a great program and we always love the opportunity to play them. Our guys have been working hard. I can't wait to see how it turns out."
 
The Flyers are coming off a successful season that led to an undefeated home record and acting as the second-seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship. Junior Connor Bruce won Rookie of the Year and was named First Team All-Atlantic 10 following a 14-4 season playing predominantly at No. 1 singles.
 
Senior Steven Karl and junior Matt DeMarco were each named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 to put three on the all-conference teams for the Flyers. Karl saw 12 decisions in the second singles flight, finishing with an 8-4 record in those matches and is tied for tenth in program history with 56 career singles victories. DeMarco finished at 8-2 last season as well while also winning both of his matches against A-10 opponents during the regular season.
 
UD also returns every member of last year's team that competed in a match while also adding two newcomers in freshmen Davis Phillips and Eric Perkowski. The fall season saw Dayton compete in three different events, highlighted by Bruce winning the Singles Draw of the Cleveland State Invitational.
 
Kentucky enters the season as the twelfth-ranked team in the country by the ITA Coaches' Poll and will also open the season in Saturday's contests. UK went 19-8 last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Arizona 4-2.
 
Five Wildcats were also named in the ITA Singles Rankings, led by Gabriel Diallo who was tabbed as the fourth-best singles player in Division I. Diallo went 14-7 in singles play in 2021, playing mostly at No. 2 singles. The Wildcats also feature Liam Draxl, the reigning ITA National Player of the Year, who opted out of the fall season. Draxl went 21-2 at the top singles flight for Kentucky last season.