Fiquet, Mikulskyte Wrap Up ITF Future 25K
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Two players on the Kentucky women’s tennis team broke in the 2018-19 fall schedule, wrapping up two successful tournaments in South Carolina.
It’s been a long, yet rewarding, two weeks for a veteran and a rookie who inaugurated the Wildcats’ fall season. Freshman Tiphanie Fiquet and senior Justina Mikulskyte kicked things off at the International Tennis Federation Future 15K in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Sept. 23, both earning tickets to the singles main draw.
Following seven days of competition and a semifinal appearance by Mikulskyte, the pair traveled north along the coast to compete in the ITF Future 25K in Charleston, South Carolina.
Both Wildcats competed in the singles qualifying field. It featured 64 players from 18 countries vying for eight spots in the main draw.
Coming off of a 6-1 stretch in Hilton Head Island, Mikulskyte was practiced enough for a solid run in the qualifying tournament. The fourth-year veteran rallied three more wins, including defeating a No. 11 seed, to claim a spot in the main event.
The first round of the main draw poised a tough match for Mikulskyte who faced Emma Navarro of the United States. Navarro defeated Mikulskyte in a 6-2, 6-2 outcome. The Lithuanian set the bar high for the Wildcats and a busy fall schedule. She won nine matches, dropped two, in 11-straight days of competition.
Fiquet made her collegiate debut only a week ago in the fall opener. In Charleston, the Wildcat from France was victorious through the first round of the qualifier after a three-set battle, but fell to the No. 1 seed Gabriela Talaba of Romania in a 6-2, 6-2 decision.
A full look at scores from the ITF Future 25K are below.
ITF FUTURE 25K SCORES
Q1: Tiphanie Fiquet: 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-1; Justina Mikulskyte: 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Q2: Tiphanie Fiquet: 1-6, 2-6; Justina Mikulskyte: 6-0, 6-0
Q3: Justina Mikulskyte: 6-4, 7-6(5) (QUALIFIED)
R1: Justina Mikulskyte: 2-6, 2-6
NEXT STOP
Kentucky women’s tennis was not selected to compete in the Riviera Women’s All-American Tennis Championships, the next scheduled tournament. The Wildcats will compete in their first collegiate tournament of the season at the Northwestern Wildcat Invite Oct. 5-7, followed by their annual stop at Ohio Valley Regionals in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Oct. 11-15.
ABOUT ITF WOMEN’S CIRCUIT
The ITF Women’s Circuit provides entry level tournaments enabling players to eventually reach the Women’s Tennis Association Tour. ITF offers over 500 tournaments in over 60 countries, annually. Kentucky student-athletes are not permitted to accept prize money at ITF events due to NCAA rules.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s tennis program, follow @UKWomensTennis on Twitter, on Facebook at Facebook.com/UKWomensTennis, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
