Nov. 8, 1999
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The University of Kentucky women’s tennis tandem ofCarolina Mayorga and Sarah Witten claimed the Rolex Region II doubles titleon Monday, topping Leigh Eichelberger and Lynn Yin Tan of South Carolina6-1, 6-4.
With the victory, Mayorga and Witten qualify for the 16-team RolexNational Indoor Championships to be held in Dallas in February.
The win capped a great weekend for the UK women?s tennis team, as other players enjoyed success as well. Three Cats, Jill Buckley, Lauren Rookledge and Amy Trefethen, advanced to the main draw with pairs of wins in qualifying rounds and the trio continued their runs into the main draw, picking up wins in the first round.
?Our players experienced some great matches this weekend. The qualifiers showed a high level of determination, confidence and poise in reaching the main draw,? UK Coach Mark Guilbeau said. ?We won matches after being down match points, closed out close sets and even won matches in third-set tiebreakers. I think the players and coaches learned a lot throughout the weekend.?
?The doubles performance speaks for itself,? he continued. ?Carolina and Sarah improved in each match. Their execution and focus were at the highest level. We?re both proud and excited that they have earned a spot in the National Indoors. Now they can represent UK at the year?s most selective tournament.?
Assistant Coach John Ware was with the duo during their final-round victory. ?What a dominating performance,? he said. ?Carolina and Sarah started the match very strongly and worked together so well. There was never any doubt that they would pull out the win.?
The tandem of Brooke Skeen and Leigh Bradwell also had a strong showing, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to runners-up Eichelberger and Tan.
?This is a very exciting way for our team to close out the fall season,? Guilbeau concluded. ?The enthusiasm this team has shown and the progress each of the players has made is astounding. It should be a great spring for our young and rapidly improving team.?
