March 14, 2003
The 13th-ranked Kentucky women’s tennis team dropped its second Southeastern Conference match with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the top-ranked Florida Gators on Friday, March 14, at UK’s Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. With the loss the Cats fell to 13-5 overall and 3-2 in the SEC, while the Gators improved to 14-1 and 5-0.
Kentucky got off to a good start in doubles when 18th-ranked Sarah Witten and Amy Trefethen defeated No. 14 Lindsay Dawaf and Julie Rotondi, 8-2, on court No. 1. On courts two and three however, Florida proved to be too much. The Cats’ Jill Buckley and Leigh Bradwell fell by a count of 8-5 to eighth-ranked Alexis Gordon and Julia Scaringe on court two and Nathalie Roels and Shannon Stafford were defeated, 8-6, by Jennifer Magley and Zerene Rayes at the No. 3 spot, giving the Gators a 1-0 lead.
In singles, the match was decided when Florida swept the three through six spots in straight sets. At No. 1 singles, 73rd-ranked Witten was able to hold off No. 37 Scaringe, 7-6, 6-3. At the two spot, Roels notched perhaps the biggest win of her young career knocking off 15th-ranked Dawaf in three sets, 6-7, 6-4, 10-6. Due to time constraints, the third set of their match was played as a tie-breaker.
Kentucky will have a day off to travel to South Carolina where they will take on the 24th-ranked Gamecocks at the Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center in Columbia. The match is scheduled to begin at Noon ET.
Agate:
No. 1 Florida 5, No. 13 Kentucky 2
Doubles
1. #18 Sarah Witten/Amy Trefethen (UK) def. #14 Lindsay Dawar/Julie Rotondi (UF) 8-2
2. #8 Alexis Gordon/Julia Scaringe (UF) def. Jill Buckley/Leigh Bradwell (UK) 8-5
3. Jennifer Magley/Zerene Reyes (UF) def. Nathalie Roels/Shannon Stafford (UK) 8-6
Singles
1. #73 Sarah Witten (UK) def. #37 Julia Scaringe (UF) 7-6; 6-3
2. Nathalie Roels (UK) def. #15 Lindsay Dawaf (UF) 6-7; 6-4; 10-6
3. #22 Julie Rotondi (UF) def. Jill Buckley (UK) 6-1; 6-1
4. #29 Zerene Reyes (UF) def. Shannon Stafford (UK) 6-4; 6-3
5. #12 Alexis Gordon (UF) def. Amy Trefethen (UF) 6-3; 6-2
6. #55 Jennifer Magley (UF) def. Shannon Stough (UF) 7-6; 6-1
Records: UF (14-1, 4-0 SEC), UK (13-6, 3-2 SEC)
