No. 18 Kentucky Primed for First Conference Road Test

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky will put its flawless road record and conference record on the line in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Friday, when the Crimson Tide hosts the Wildcats for a 6 p.m. first serve at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
 
No. 18 Kentucky, who is 2-0 on the road and 2-0 in league play, boasts a 12-1 mark this season. It is the Wildcats’ best start to the season since charting a 15-1 start in 2007. Notably, UK is only two wins away from tying the 14 wins the program earned last year in its 14-11 season.
 
Making an early imprint, freshman Tiphanie Fiquet sports a spotless record, unbeaten through 11 singles matches and 11 doubles matches. She leads the Wildcats in both disciplines. The three-time Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week has nine singles wins on court four and two singles wins on court two. In doubles, she and redshirt-sophomore Lesedi Jacobs have 10 wins on court two, while she and redshirt-junior Akvile Paražinskaite filed one win on court one.
 
Fiquet and Jacobs entered the national rankings for the first time Tuesday, becoming the 76th-best pair in the nation. Senior Justina Mikulskyte and Paražinskaite are No. 55 in the doubles ranking after collecting a 6-3 mark on court one.
 
Mikulskyte is also represented in the singles national poll, ranking as the 48th-best player in the nation with a 7-2 mark on court one.
 
Kentucky and Alabama have met 41 times in program history, while the Wildcats lead the Crimson Tide in all-time wins, 28-14.  
 
Alabama lost to Auburn in the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic in February, the only conference opponent Alabama and Kentucky have both seen this year, although neither meetings count toward the conference record.
 
The Crimson Tide filed a 3-4 loss to the Tigers, while Kentucky defeated Auburn in January by a spotless 4-0 decision. Alabama’s fall to Auburn happened before they foiled to LSU and Texas A&M in their conference opener, making a 0-2 mark in league play and 10-5 mark overall.
 
UK won’t travel far for its next match, facing Auburn on Sunday, March 10 in a noon serve.
 
Live scoring will be available at http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=253017.
 
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.