NCAA LIVE STATS!

Danielle Hock serves during practice at UK Thursday afternoon. Hock won the Herd's only match against UK earlier this season. Photo by Matt Riley

Lexington, Ky. - The Thundering Herd tennis team arrived in Bluegrass country Wednesday evening and is making its final preparations before doing battle with the No. 3 seed Kentucky Wildcats on their home courts Friday at 2 p.m.

Marshall comes into the NCAA Tournament on an 11-match winning streak after capturing its fourth straight Mid-American Conference Tournament championship and the No. 69 ranked Thundering Herd knows it will have to play very well against the No. 3 ranked Wildcats.

The Herd and Wildcats are familiar foes this season as the two met in January with UK taking a 6-1 win. The Herd's Danielle Hock (Wigan, England) picked up the lone win of the day with a 6-1, 1-6, 1-0 (4) win at No. 4 over Christine Simpson.

Marshall is no stranger to NCAA competition with appearances in each of the last four seasons, but the Herd is still seeking its first win and the 'Cats provide an ample challenge.

Kentucky boasts three ranked players in singles and two ranked doubles teams in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings.

Leading the way for UK will be Aibika Kalsarieva. The Wildcats No. 1 player is ranked No. 3 in the ITA singles rankings and she will match up with the Herd's Ashley Kroh (Louisville, Ky.). Kim Coventry and Sarah Foster round out the ranked singles players for Kentucky, coming in at Nos. 30 and 64 respectively.

In doubles, Kalsarieva and Foster hold down the No. 7 ranking in the ITA poll, while Coventry and Joelle Schwenk are ranked No. 22.

Kroh makes a return to her home state and to NCAA competition where she made it to the finals of the NCAA Doubles Tournament with partner Jessica Johnson last season. The senior enters the match on a 19-match singles win streak dating back to a 6-3, 6-1 loss to UK's Foster. Kroh, the winningest player in Marshall history needs just two more overall wins (singles and doubles) to get to 200 in her career.

Also seeking history for the Herd will be senior Joelle Good (Zurich, Switzerland). With 93 wins, Good is currently tied with Alyssa Bengel at the top of Marshall's all-time singles wins list and she'll be looking to eclipse that mark against the Wildcats.

Live stats can be found on UKathletics.com or on the link above. The first serve is set for 2 p.m. with the winner meeting either Wake Forest or Indiana.