Wildcats Post 7-0 Victory Over Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 22 Kentucky women’s tennis posted it second shutout of the season, sweeping all its matchups in a 7-0 victory against No. 53 Illinois on Saturday evening. The Wildcats move to 4-1 for the 2016 season, while Illinois falls to 3-3.
“We faced an enthusiastic crowd and a highly energetic Illinois team,” commented head coach Carlos Dradá. “We played very professionally with a lot of enthusiasm and focus, and we were focused on the right things, the things that we were looking to execute during the whole week. It’s definitely a step in the right direction, and we look forward to the rest of the season.”
The Blue and White handed the Fighting Illini their first loss in doubles this year, with all three Kentucky lineups earning victories to start the match. Mami Adachi and Aldila Sutjiadi, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, handed Illinois’ Louise Kwong and Ines Vias a 6-4 defeat to kick things off. The Wildcats rattled off two more wins to wrap up doubles action, with Akvile Paražinskaite and Morgan Chumney defeating Jerricka Boone and Madie Baillon, 6-2, in No. 2 singles while Justina Mikulskyte and Nadia Ravita downed Alexis Casati and Daniela Pedraza Novak in No. 3 singles, 6-3.
Adachi, ranked No. 100 in the ITA, came away with the first victory in singles action after defeating Pedraza Novak in matching 6-3 sets. From there, Mikulskyte made her debut in the No. 1 spot and remained undefeated on the season with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Kwong. Kirsten Lewis sealed the victory for the Wildcats with her win over Baillon in No. 6 singles with an identical result as Mikulskyte, pushing extra games for a 7-5 victory in the first before a solid 6-3 set to clinch the match.
With the outcome of the match decided, the Wildcats continued to dominate throughout singles play to wrap up the evening. In No. 4 singles, Paražinskaite took down Vias in 6-2, 7-5 sets. No. 97 Sutjiadi and Ravita both had three-set wins. Sutjiadi took down Casati 6-1 in the first before dropping a 3-6 second set, but bounced back in the deciding set with a 6-4 win. Ravita faltered in her first set, falling 6-3 to No. 114 Boone, but posted matching 6-4 victories in the second and third to take the match and record Kentucky’s seventh point of the evening.
Mikulskyte praised the determination of her team amidst the raucous environment, saying, “I think our team is the one who can fight and leave everything on the court, so we did that today. We fought really hard with everything we could.”
Kentucky will head to the East Coast to take on a pair of ranked Ivy League schools next weekend in Princeton, N.J. UK will first face No. 43 Princeton at 2 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 12 before taking on No. 58 Columbia on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 11 a.m.
Visit UKathletics.com for the most up-to-date information on the Kentucky women’s tennis team and all 22 varsity sports. For additional info, notes, and behind-the-scenes updates, follow the team on Twitter at @UKWomensTennis and on Facebook.
Final Results
Doubles (Order of finish: 1-2-3)
1 – No. 1 Mami Adachi/Aldila Sutjiadi (UK) def. Louise Kwong/Ines Vias (ILL), 6-4
2 – Akvile Paražinskaite/Morgan Chumney (UK) def. Jerricka Boone/Madie Baillon (ILL), 6-2
3 – Justine Mikulskyte/Nadia Ravita (UK) def. Alexis Casati/Daniela Pedraza Novak (ILL), 6-3
Singles (Order of finish: 5-1-6-4-2-3)
1 – Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. Louise Kwong (ILL), 7-5, 6-3
2 –No. 97 Aldila Sutjiadi (UK) def. Alexis Casati (ILL), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
3 – Nadia Ravita (UK) def. def. No. 114 Jerricka Boone (ILL), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
4 – Akvile Paražinskaite (UK) def. Ines Vias (ILL), 6-2, 7-5
5 – No. 100 Mami Adachi (UK) def. Daniela Pedraza Novak (ILL), 6-3, 6-3
6 – Kirsten Lewis (UK) def. Madie Baillon (ILL), 7-5, 6-3
