April 15, 2003
Senior Sarah Witten was named the Southeastern Conference women’s tennis Player of the Week on Monday. The Naples, Fla., native earned the honor after defeating Ohio State’s 38th-ranked Sadhaf Pervez, 6-3, 6-2, on Wednesday, Apr. 9 and then No. 15 Sarah Riske of Vanderbilt, also 6-3, 6-2, last Saturday, Apr. 12. Witten also paired with fellow senior Amy Trefethen in doubles to defeat Vandy’s fourth-ranked duo of Riske and Aleke Tsoubanos, 8-4, to clinch the doubles point in UK’s pivotal 4-3 upset win over the 10th-ranked Commodores.
Led by Witten, the Cats finished the season winning seven consecutive matches and 16 of their last 18, on their way to finishing in a three-way tie for second in the SEC and earning the third seed in this week’s SEC Women’s Tennis Tournament.
“There isn’t anyone who is more deserving of this award than Sarah,” Coach Mark Guilbeau said. “She has been the catalyst that has gotten this team to where it is today. I personally feel she should have already received this recognition once or twice this season.
“What she has done over the last month of the season is symbolic of what she has done her entire career at UK. It is largely because of her desire, enthusiasm and great play that this team finished as well as it did in the regular season.”
Witten, who is ranked No. 48 in singles, has been a major factor in UK’s strongest SEC finish in 16 years. She posted an 8-3 conference singles record and won nine consecutive singles matches over the last month. In doubles, she and Trefethen, ranked 11th nationally, won eight of their last nine matches on their way to finishing with an astounding 14-3 dual-match record, which included wins over several top-20 opponents. Witten also teamed up with freshman Nathalie Roels early in the year to post a 17-6 record and despite not having played together in more than two months, the duo is still ranked No. 7 by the ITA.
Witten has totaled nearly 100 singles victories and over 110 doubles victories in her career. She is a two-time doubles All-American and after the SEC Tournament she will lead UK on its quest through the NCAA tournament. This was the 14th-ranked Wildcats’ first SEC Player of the Week selection this season and the first by a UK player since Carolina Mayorga was selected in April of 2001.
Kentucky Earns Bye in SEC Tournament
No. 3 seed Kentucky earns a bye into Friday’s second round of the SEC Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn. The Cats will face the winner of Thursday’s first-round match-up between No. 6 Alabama and No. 11 Mississippi State. Florida, which is ranked No. 3 in the country, is the top seed in the tournament and will face the winner of eighth-seeded LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss. Georgia earned the second seed based on its 6-1 victory over UK on Mar. 2, while Tennessee fell to the fourth spot due to its 4-3 loss to the Cats on Feb. 28. Kentucky’s highest finish in the SEC Tournament was second in 1986 and 1987.
