Kentucky Completes Perfect Road Weekend with Comeback Over Princeton
PRINCETON, N.J. – After falling behind early in the match, the Kentucky women’s tennis team pulled off a gutsy 4-3 victory over Princeton to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season inside the Jadwin Gym on Sunday afternoon. With the win, Kentucky rises to 6-2 on the season, while Princeton falls to 7-1 overall.
Princeton was able to draw first blood in the match, taking the doubles point with wins on courts one and two. The Tigers extended their lead to two as freshman Brianna Tulloch was defeated in straight sets in No. 6 singles.
The Wildcats got on the board with win from Diana Tkachenko on court four before Mami Adachi picked up a 6-2, 6-3 victory on court three to tie things up.
The Tigers made one final push, going up 3-2 as No. 100 Katrine Steffensen defeated senior Emily Fanning in No. 1 singles.
The match would be knotted at 3-3 after Lesedi Jacobs downed Gaby Pollner in straight sets on court five, and would come down to a three-set showdown in No. 2 singles.
After taking the first set 6-4, Justina Mikulskyte would come close in the second set, battling back from a 5-2 deficit before dropping the set 7-5. But with the match on her back, the Kentucky junior fought through a third set to win 6-3 and clinch the victory for the Wildcats.
Kentucky will return home for a double header this Friday, Feb. 23, facing Arizona State at noon ET and Eastern Kentucky at 6 p.m. inside the Boone Tennis Center. The matches will serve as UK’s final non-conference tests before beginning Southeastern Conference play vs. Alabama on March 6.
Agate
Kentucky 4, Princeton 3
Princeton, N.J. – Jadwin Gym
Feb. 18, 2018
Doubles (Order of Finish: 2-3-1)
1 – Nicole Kalhorn/Stephanie Schrage (PRIN) def. #28 Mami Adachi/Emily Fanning (UK) 6-3
2 – Clare McKee/Katrine Steffensen (PRIN) def. Lesedi Jacobs/Brianna Tuloch (UK) 6-0
3 – Justina Mikulskyte/Diana Tkachenko (UK) def. Sara Goodwin/Nathalie Rodilosso (PRIN) 6-2
Singles (Order of Finish: 6-4-3-1-5-2)
1 – #100 Katrine Steffensen (PRIN) def. Emily Fanning (UK) 6-2, 6-3
2 – Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. #81 Stephanie Schrage (PRIN) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
3 – Mami Adachi (UK) def. Nicole Kalhorn (PRIN) 6-2, 6-3
4 – Diana Tkachenko (UK) def. Clare McKee (PRIN) 6-3, 6-1
5 – Lesedi Jacobs (UK) def. Gaby Pollner (PRIN) 6-4, 6-3
6 – Tiffany Chen (PRIN) def. Brianna Tulloch (UK) 6-0, 6-0
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s tennis program, follow @UKWomensTennis on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook at Facebook.com/UKWomensTennis and on the web at UKathletics.com.
