PALO ALTO, Calif. ? Junior Kim Coventry and freshman Carolina Escamilla toppled New Mexico?s fourth-seeded duo of Iva Gersic and Maja Kovacek in three sets Thursday 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of doubles competition of the NCAA tournament in Stanford, Calif. UK?s No. 27 tandem advances to face South Florida?s Gabriela Duch and Neyssa Etienne Friday at 5 p.m. EDT.

The first set was dominated by the Lobos? team who reached as high as No. 2 in the country on March 21. Gersic and Kovacek broke serve in the third game on their way to winning the set 6-2.

The Wildcats turned the tide in the second set mastering the gusty winds at Stanford?s Taube Tennis Center. The Cats jumped ahead two games to love before New Mexico rallied to tie at 2-2. Coventry and Escamilla turned up their games another notch winning four of the final five games to tie the match at one set apiece.

In the third set, Coventry and Escamilla came out and took the first two games and never looked back. In tenth and decisive game, Coventry volleyed to clinch the set at 6-4 and gave UK the opening round upset. The loss for Gersic and Kovacek was only their fifth of the season.

?Kim (Coventry) and Carolina (Escamilla) had an excellent match today,? head coach Carlos Drada said. ?I am very proud of the way they played against one of the top teams in the country. They did a great job of executing strategies and we look forward to competing in tomorrow?s match.?

UK will meet a familiar foe in the round of 16. The Wildcats’ duo defeated Dutch and Etienne 8-6 in a 4-3 Kentucky win over the Bulls on Feb. 25. With the victory, Coventry and Escamilla will both gain All-America honors for the season. Fans can check ukathletics.com for live stats and a recap following the match?s conclusion.

First Round NCAA Doubles Championships
Taube Tennis Center – Stanford, Calif.

No. 27 Coventry/Escamilla (UK) def. No. 4 Gersic/Kovacek (NM) – 2-6, 6-3, 6-4