No. 18 Wildcats Drop First Road Match of the Season
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Junior Diana Tkachenko remains unbeaten in 11 singles matches this season, but it wasn’t enough to lead the No. 18 Kentucky women’s tennis team to a victory on Friday, when the Wildcats lost at Alabama by a 4-1 decision.
Kentucky dropped its doubles point for the third time this season. The 55th-best duo in the nation in senior Justina Mikulskyte and redshirt-junior Akvile Paražinskaite tallied a 6-3 outcome on court one to move to a 7-3 mark this season. Sophomore Alexis Merrill and junior Anastasia Tkachenko finished second, dropping their match on court three by a 6-4 decision.
The doubles point was left to the performance of freshman Tiphanie Fiquet and junior Lesedi Jacobs, but the newly-ranked 76th-best pair in the nation dropped their first match of the season by a 6-4 standard. The duo moves to a 10-1 record this season, while Fiquet is 11-1 in doubles.
Trailing by one ahead of singles, Kentucky had ground to makeup in the next division. Paražinskaite was first to finish her match, falling to Moka Ito on court two by a 6-1, 6-4 decision. D. Tkachenko gave the Wildcats hope when she rallied a 6-3, 6-3 victory on court five, giving Kentucky its first point. She leads the Wildcats with her unbeaten singles record of 11-0.
The Crimson Tide led on courts four and six before sealing the deal. Fiquet, who was unbeaten through 11 matches ahead of today, lost on court four by a 6-4, 6-2 mark. A. Tkachenko reported a 7-6 (3), 6-3 defeat on court six to Ann Selim, which gave Alabama the deciding point.
Kentucky moves to a 12-2 record this season, 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats still hold the all-time winning mark over the Crimson Tide, 28-15.
The match Friday is the first in a string of four road matches. The Wildcats will meet Auburn Sunday, March 10, for the second time this year. Next, the program will travel to Louisiana and Texas A&M to play in dual matches on March 15 and 17, respectively.
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.
