March 10, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – While freshman Nadia Ravita knocked off sixth-ranked Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, the 44th-ranked University of Kentucky women’s tennis team fell 5-2 to No. 4 Texas A&M on Sunday in Kentucky’s first outdoor home match of the year.
“I am very proud of the competitiveness that all of our players exhibited today,” UK head coach Carlos Drada said. “Although the outcome did not fall our way, I was pleased with what I saw from my team, especially facing the No. 4 team in the country.”
Ranked 51st in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s latest rankings, Ravita fell behind early on court one, dropping the first set 6-2. The freshman gained her composure and stormed back, taking the second set 6-4 from Sanchez-Quintanar. Ravita flew through the third set, taking a quick 5-0 lead before eventually clinching the match with a 6-2 win in the third set.
“Nadia was very impressive today,” Drada said. “She lost a very close doubles match and had the mental toughness to come back and beat one of the best and most experienced singles players in the nation.”
With the win, Ravita’s singles record improves to 13-2 in the No. 1 slot during her first year in the Southeastern Conference. This is Ravita’s fourth win over a ranked opponent this year.
The Aggies helped themselves with an early 1-0 lead, winning two of three doubles matches to clinch the doubles point. Ines Deheza and Paula Deheza gave the Aggies an early lead in doubles, winning the No. 3 doubles match 8-1.
At the conclusion of the No. 3 doubles match, freshman Nadia Ravita and junior Caitlin McGraw were up 6-5 on court one and junior Cece Witten and sophomore Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff were trailing 6-5 on court two.
On two, Witten and Morin-Kougoucheff went down 7-5 but battled back to tie the match at 7-7. Court one was a constant back-and-forth, with the match going to 8-8, requiring a seven-point tiebreaker.
Ravita and McGraw went up early in the tiebreaker, with a 4-2 advantage in the best-of-seven tiebreaker. The duo wasn’t able to hang on, as Stefania Hristov and Cristina Stancu took five consecutive points to win the tiebreaker 7-4. The win on court one sealed the doubles point for Texas A&M.
The No. 2 doubles match finished momentarily after court one. Witten and Morin-Kougoucheff fought back from down 7-5, winning four consecutive games to take the match 9-7.
Texas A&M recorded some quick wins in singles play. Cristina Stancu defeated senior Jessica Stiles 6-2, 6-3 on court two and Ines Deheza took court four from Morin-Kougoucheff 6-2, 6-4.
With the Aggies leading 3-0 in the match, Khristina Blajkevitch fell in her first singles match of the spring to Nazari Urbina 6-0, 6-2. The win on court three clinched the match for Texas A&M but play continued on.
Sophomore Stephanie Fox improved her singles record this spring to 11-3 with a straight sets win on court six. Fox won the match 6-3, 6-1.
On court five, McGraw won the second set after the match had been decided, forcing a 10-point tiebreaker. The junior fell 10-7 in the tiebreaker to drop the match 6-2, 4-6, 10-7.
The Wildcats now move to 11-4 on the year and 2-2 in SEC play.
Kentucky will return to the courts on Friday, hosting No. 50 Ole Miss at 4 p.m.
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No. 4 Texas A&M – 5
No. 44 Kentucky – 2
Doubles
1 – Stefania Hristov/Cristina Stancu (TAMU) def. Caitlin McGraw/Nadia Ravita (UK) def. 9-8 (7-4)
2 – Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff/CeCe Witten (UK) def. Wen Sun/Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (TAMU) 9-7
3 – Ines Deheza/Paula Deheza (TAMU) def. Khristina Blajkevitch/Jessica Stiles (UK) 8-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1*, 2
Singles
1 – Nadia Ravita (UK) def. Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
2 – Cristina Stancu (TAMU) def. Jessica Stiles (UK) 6-2, 6-3.
3 – Nazari Urbina (TAMU) def. Khristina Blajkevitch (UK) 6-0, 6-2
4 – Ines Deheza (TAMU) def. Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff (UK) 6-2, 6-4
5 – Stefania Hristov (TAMU) def. Caitlin McGraw (UK) 6-2, 4-6, 10-7
6 – Stephanie Fox (UK) def. Anna Mamalat (TAMU) 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 3*, 6, 5, 1
