Wildcats Defeat Arkansas in Conference Opener
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fueled by the pressure of a missed doubles point, No. 25 Kentucky defeated Arkansas Friday 5-1 in the opening dual match of the conference schedule. In the process, freshman Tiphanie Fiquet exhausted opponents in her doubles and singles matches to remain unbeaten through 10 matches apiece.
The Wildcats, who move to 11-1, did not start in conquering fashion. For only the second time this season, Kentucky dropped the doubles point. Arkansas clinched the first point by collecting back-to-back victories on court one and court three.
Kentucky has only dropped one other doubles point this season to Ohio State, when the Wildcats claimed their only loss of the season.
Martina Zerulo and Tatum Rice of Arkansas defeated the 50th-best duo in the nation in senior Justina Mikulskyte and redshirt-junior Akvile Paražinskaite by a 6-0, 6-2 decision. The UK pair own a 5-3 mark this season, all on court one. The defeat was followed by a second on court three when Razorbacks’ Jackie Carr and Laura Rijkers took down junior Anastasia Tkachenko and freshman Alexis Merrill by a 6-2 outcome.
Freshman Tiphanie Fiquet and redshirt-sophomore Lesedi Jacobs finished their doubles match within seconds, earning a win on court two. While the win did not affect the final score, the duo remains unbeaten in nine doubles matches this season, the best doubles record among the team. Fiquet, who was paired with Paražinskaite once earlier in the year, is unbeaten in 10 doubles matches.
The twosome defeated Razorbacks’ Lauren Alter and Miruna Tudor by a 6-3 standard.
Kentucky had unusual ground to make up ahead of the singles division, but it proved to not to be a problem when UK won five straight singles matches to form a 5-1 mark over Arkansas.
First to finish was No. 46 Mikulskyte who handedly defeated No. 81 Tatum Rice on court one by a 6-0, 6-2 mark. Jacobs quickly followed in suit on court three, crafting a 6-1, 6-3 decision over Jackie Carr. That is when all eyes turned to Fiquet, who was attempting to save her flawless singles record.
The freshman of Nice, France, didn’t disappoint when she rallied a 7-5, 6-4 finish over Laura Rijkers on court four to finish third. Fiquet is unbeaten through 10 singles matches this year.
Two singles matches finished within seconds of each other to seal the deal for Kentucky. UK’s fifth player in Diana Tkachenko, who is also unbeaten in 10 singles matches, crafted a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Lauren Alter.
Paražinskaite, who had been battling on court two since the singles division started, assembled a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback to defeat the Razorbacks’ No. 2 player in Martina Zerulo.
The conference opener was the first of a string of home matches this weekend. The 11-1 Wildcats will return to the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center on Sunday for a doubleheader – 11 a.m. first serve versus Missouri and a 4 p.m. start against Lipscomb.
For more on Kentucky women’s tennis, follow @UKWomensTennis on Twitter and Instagram, Kentucky Women’s Tennis on Facebook, or on the web at UKathletics.com.
