UK sophomore Sarah Foster rallied from a one-set deficit at the second singles position to clinch the Cats? seventh-consecutive victory Sunday, as No. 7 Kentucky defeated No. 62 Ole Miss, 4-3 in its first home outdoor match of 2005 at UK?s Hilary J. Boone Tennis Stadium.
UK got on the board early by securing the doubles point in its third-consecutive match. Sophomores Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk teamed up for an 8-5 win at the second doubles slot, and Aibika Kalsarieva and Sarah Foster followed suit at the first position to clinch the point. Senior Emily Foster and Lara Maurer added an 8-6 win at the third slot over Nika Koukhartchouk and Preethi Subramanian.
Kentucky extended its lead to 2-0 after a straight-set win from Coventry over Virginia Tomatis at the third singles position. After Ole Miss cut the lead to 2-1 with a victory at No. 6 singles, Kalsarieva scored a 6-2, 7-5 win over Ole Miss? 34th-ranked Carlotti for a 3-1 UK lead. The Rebels? Mimi Renaudin pulled out a three-set win over UK?s Maurer to slice the lead to 3-2, but only seconds later, Sarah Foster provided Kentucky?s clinching point with a 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 win over the Rebels? Ilona Somers. Ole Miss? Koukhartchouk outlasted UK?s Schwenk in a three-setter for the final 4-3 margin.
Kentucky (13-3, 2-0) improves to 15-14 in its series with Ole Miss (6-4, 0-2). The Cats return to action Friday at No. 26 South Carolina.
No. 7 Kentucky 4, No. 62 Ole Miss 3
Doubles
1. No. 6 S. Foster/Kalsarieva (UK) def. No. 53 Carlotti/Tomatis (UM) ? 8-5
2. No. 16 Coventry/Schwenk (UK) def. Renaudin/Somers (UM) ? 8-5
3. E. Foster/Maurer (UK) def. Koukhartchouk/Subramanian (UM) ? 8-6
Singles
1. No. 8 Aibika Kalsarieva (UK) def. No. 34 Chloe Carlotti (UM) ? 6-2, 7-5
2. No. 53 Sarah Foster (UK) def. Ilona Somers (UM) ? 3-6, 7-6, 6-1
3. No. 43 Kim Coventry (UK) def. Virginia Tomatis (UM) ? 6-2, 6-4
4. No. 94 Nika Koukhartchouk (UM) def. Joelle Schwenk (UK) ? 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
5. Mimi Renaudin (UM) def. Lara Maurer (UK) ? 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
6. Preethi Subramanian (UM) def. Danielle Petrisko (UK) ? 6-1, 7-6
