Lexington, Ky. ? The No. 22 Kentucky women?s tennis team scored a resounding 5-2 victory over No. 38 South Carolina Friday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center to extend its season-best winning streak to seven matches. Freshman Carolina Escamilla clinched the match for UK extending her personal winning streak to 10 matches and moving her to 9-0 in Southeastern Conference competition.
The win moved the Wildcats to 15-6 (8-1 SEC) on the season.
Kentucky got off to a hot start by taking two out of three doubles matches to go up 1-0. Kentucky has now won every SEC match where it has taken the doubles point. Juniors Joelle Schwenk and Lara Maurer started Kentucky?s winning ways by beating USC?s Megan McGavock and Grace Blakely 8-1 at the No. 2 spot in the lineup. The Cats? No. 1 team of junior Kim Coventry and Escamilla clinched the point with an 8-4 win over USC?s Gira Schofield and Natasa Vuckovic.
Kentucky continued to pour it on taking four out of six singles matches. Schwenk put UK up 2-1 with a 6-3, 6-3, win over the Gamecocks? Miranda Gutierrez at the No. 3 spot. Schwenk improved her SEC record to 8-1.
Junior Kim Coventry notched UK?s second singles win beating South Carolina?s Schofield at the No. 1 spot. Coventry dropped the first set 6-7, before rebounding to win the next two 6-3, 6-1.
At the No. 5 spot, Escamilla came up big once again clinching the match with a 6-1, 6-3, victory over McGavock. The match marked the second time in the last three contests Escamilla has registered the clinching win.
?I am very grateful to the team for a stellar performance,? head coach Carlos Drada said. ?I am proud of their efforts and their willingness to focus in crucial situations. We are looking forward to having our next match against Florida.?
The Cats travel to face the third-ranked Gators in Gainesville, Fla., on Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT. Last season, UK upset No. 2 Florida for the first win against the Gators in school history. Fans can check ukathletics.com for live stats and a recap following the match.
No. 22 UK def. No. 38 South Carolina 5-2
Doubles
1.Coventry/Escamilla (UK) def. Schofield/Vuckovic (USC) – 8-4
2.Maurer/Schwenk (UK) def. McGavock/Blakely (USC) – 8-1
3.Lucas/Gutierrez (USC) def. Petrisko/Winebrenner (UK) – 8-2
Singles
1.Kim Coventry (UK) def. Gira Schofield (USC) – 6-7, 6-3, 6-1
2.Natasa Vuckovic (USC) def. Lara Maurer (UK) – 6-1, 6-2
3.Joelle Schwenk (UK) def. Miranda Giuierrez (USC) – 6-3, 6-3
4.Christyn Lucas (USC) def. Danielle Petrisko (UK) – 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5.Carolina Escamilla (UK) def. Megan McGavock (USC) – 6-1, 6-3
6.Jessica Giuggioli (UK) def. Grace Blakely (USC) – 5-5 default
