Tkachenko Named SEC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Having won four straight singles matches and helping the Wildcats to a five-match win streak, Kentucky sophomore Diana Tkachenko was selected Southeastern Conference Player of the Week on Wednesday afternoon.
The honor is the first for Tkachenko after transferring in from Evansville in January. Kentucky has won back-to-back SEC Player of the Week honors after junior Justina Mikulskyte earned the distinction last week.
Tkachenko went undefeated in singles in Friday’s double header, earning her first ranked singles win of the season in the win over No. 22 Arizona State as she took down No. 107 Nicole Fossa Huergo in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Later that same evening, she battled through a 10-point super tiebreak to defeat EKU’s Alexandra Belle, 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (6) and keep her four-match streak going.
In doubles, the sophomore teamed with Mikulskyte in No. 2 singles to post an impressive 6-0 victory over EKU’s Lagoda/Demcenkova.
The Wildcats are set to open SEC action this weekend, bringing in Alabama for its SEC opener on Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Kentucky will wrap up the weekend against No. 16 Auburn on Sunday at noon inside the Boone Tennis Center.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s tennis program, follow @UKWomensTennis on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook at Facebook.com/UKWomensTennis and on the web at UKathletics.com.
