No. 24 UK Women’s Tennis Falls to Second-Best Team in Nation at Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 24 University of Kentucky women’s tennis team could not hold off the second-best team in the nation in Athens, Georgia, on Friday, dropping its dual match to No. 2 Georgia on a 4-0 outcome.
Georgia, unbeaten in 20 dual matches this season to clinch the Southeastern Conference Regular Season Championship, beat UK to the doubles point, claiming an early lead. It marked the Bulldogs’ seventh straight doubles point in the league. The Wildcats (17-6, SEC 7-5) sported a new look in the doubles division, moving redshirt-sophomore Lesedi Jacobs and junior Anastasia Tkachenko to the second court, and pairing freshman Alexis Merrill and junior Diana Tkachenko on the third court.
Merrill and D. Tkachenko dropped their match first to Bulldogs’ Meg Kowalski and Marta Gonzalez, 6-0. Moments later, Bulldogs’ Elena Christofi and Vivian Wolfe snapped Jacobs and A. Tkachenko’s three-match win streak on a 6-3 decision.
In singles, D. Tkachenko fell on the fifth court to Elena Christofi in a 6-2, 6-0 outcome, helping UGA to the first singles point. Then, UK’s Akvile Paražinskaite dropped her singles match on court four to No. 53 Vivian Wolff, 6-2, 6-1. It helped Georgia to a 3-0 lead, only needing one more point to clinch the dual match.
Meanwhile, Jacobs forced an impressive first-set win on the second court, rallying a 7-6 (12) outcome over the 20th-best player in the nation in Marta Gonzalez. The dual match retired at 7-6 (12). On the sixth court, A. Tkachenko rallied from behind a 1-6 first set with a 6-2 second-set notch over No. 97 Meg Kowalski. The match retired in Kowalski’s favor, 6-1, 2-6, 3-1.
Sealing the deal for the Bulldogs was No. 87 Lourdes Carle on the third court, defeating UK freshman Tiphanie Fiquet, 6-2, 6-2.
The Kentucky women’s tennis team will conclude its regular season at Tennessee on Sunday, a 1 p.m. first serve in Knoxville, Tennessee. The program will travel to College Station, Texas, on Tuesday to compete at the SEC Championship, April 17-21.
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.
