By Tyler Spanyer | @KernelSpanyer

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One week after beginning the outdoor portion of their schedule with two wins, the No. 6-ranked men’s tennis team returns home to begin SEC play against No. 47 Arkansas and No. 39 LSU this weekend.

The Cats stayed at No. 6 in the rankings this week, but two UK players moved up in the singles rankings. Junior Tom Jomby moved back up to No. 18 in singles, and senior Anthony Rossi jumped up 69 spots from No. 90 to No. 21 in this week’s rankings.

Jomby and his doubles partner, freshman Kevin Lai, come in at No. 19 in the doubles rankings.

UK will first host No. 47 Arkansas on Friday afternoon at the Boone Tennis Complex. The Razorbacks are 11-2 on the year but have yet to play a team ranked in the top 125.

Arkansas is led by senior Gregoire Lehmann, who comes in at No. 125 in the ITA rankings this week. Lehmann is 5-4 on the year from the one spot and should pose a small challenge to Rossi.

Other than Lehmann, no other Razorback is ranked in either singles or doubles, but they are a young team on a mission.

The Cats will finish up play Sunday as they host the No. 39-ranked Tigers from LSU. The Tigers are 5-2 overall on the year and hold a 1-2 record against ranked teams.

That lone ranked win was an upset over No. 23 Indiana, with the two losses coming against No. 4 Ohio State and SEC foe No. 11 Mississippi State.

LSU is led by the duo of senior Stefan Szacinski and sophomore Chris Simpson, who come in at No. 41 in the ITA doubles rankings.

Szacinski is a three-time letter winner at LSU, while Simpson is a young up-and-comer from England.

Friday’s action between UK and Arkansas is slated to begin at 1 p.m., with the Cats and Tigers finishing up the weekend at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.