Wildcats Earn First Ranked Win of the Season, Overwhelm No. 12 Tennessee 4-1
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Kentucky women’s tennis team picked up its first ranked win of the season with its 4-1 defeat of No. 12 Tennessee on Sunday afternoon. With its third straight victory over UT, the Wildcats advance to 9-2 overall, 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference this season, while the Volunteers fall to 13-3, 0-2 in league play.
“We are excited for our team’s effort today,” said head coach Carlos Dradá. “Our players’ preparation is starting to pay off. We are excited and ready to continue competing the rest of the season.”
Emily Fanning and Justina Mikulskyte got things going with a 6-3 win in No. 3 doubles, but Tennessee would answer back, taking down Morgan Chumney and Akvile Paražinskaite 6-2 on court two.
For the second match in a row, the doubles point came down to UK’s fifth-ranked duo of Mami Adachi and Aldila Sutjiadi. After being down 1-3, the veteran tandem rallied back winning five straight games to earn a 6-3 win over Tennessee’s Brittany Lindl and Eve Repic and give Kentucky the first point in the match. The Wildcats have only dropped the doubles point in one match this season.
In singles, UT evened the score at 1-1 as Chumney fell on court six, but Fanning responded by defeating Ariadna Riley in straight sets to regain Kentucky’s lead. From there it was a battle as the remainder of the matches would head to third sets.
Paražinskaite picked up the Wildcats’ third point, taking down Sadie Hammond in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 decision. Paražinskaite was the only athlete to blank her opposition in any set on the day. Finally, Adachi won a hard-fought battle over Repic to seal the victory for UK.
Kentucky will return home to the Boone Tennis Complex next weekend to host its SEC home opener against Ole Miss on Friday at 6 p.m. as well as facing Mississippi State on Sunday at noon.
Agate
#30 Kentucky 4, #12 Tennessee 1
Barksdale Stadium – Knoxville, Tenn.
March 5, 2017
Doubles (Order of Finish: 3-2-1)
1 – Adachi/Sutjiadi (UK) def. Lindl/Repic (UT), 6-3
2 – Hammond/Schuck (UT) def. Chumney/Paražinskaite (UK), 6-2
3 – Fanning/Mikulskyte (UK) def. Riley/Silva (UT), 6-3
Singles (Order of Finish: 6-4-2-3)
1 – #93 Brittany Lindl (UT) vs. #13 Aldila Sutjiadi (UK), 7-6 (10-8), 4-6, 3-2, unfinished
2 – Akvile Paražinskaite (UK) def. Sadie Hammond (UT), 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
3 – Mami Adachi (UK) def. Eve Repic (UT), 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
4 – Emily Fanning (UK) def. Ariadna Riley (UT), 6-3, 6-3
5 – Johanna Silva (UT) vs. Justina Mikulskyte (UK), 3-6, 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
6 – Gabby Schuck (UT) def. Morgan Chumney (UK), 6-2, 6-3
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