May 22, 2001
University of Kentucky women’s tennis player Carolina Mayorga closed her 2001 singles campaign on Tuesday, May 22, when she fell to 16th-ranked Chin Bee Khoo from Arkansas in the opening round of the 2001 NCAA Singles Championships. The junior teamed with partner Sarah Witten to advance to the second round of the doubles tournament with a last-minute entry as alternates for the event. The tournaments, which are being played at the Lincoln Tennis Center in Stone Mountain, Ga., kicked off on Tuesday morning.
Mayorga, the nation’s 40th-ranked player, dropped the match in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. The players had met twice this season before today’s match, with Khoo holding a 1-0 advantage. Khoo took the regular season match in three sets on March 10. Mayorga managed to grab the second set from Khoo to force a third set, which was played as a super-tiebreak. Khoo, then ranked 33rd, took out Mayorga, then ranked 77th in a heated 12-10 decision.
When the players met again at the Southeastern Conference Tournament in April, they split sets before their match was suspended after UK clinched the victory.
“It’s obviously a great accomplishment for Carolina just to make the NCAA tournament,” Coach Mark Guilbeau said. “Today Chin Bee Khoo was extremely tough and a really tough opponent for Carolina.” In doubles action, the tandem of senior Brooke Skeen and sophomore Lauren Rookledge were defeated in the opening round of the 2001 NCAA Doubles Championships by No. 4-seed and fourth-ranked Whitney Laiho and Jessica Lehnhoff from Florida, 7-5, 6-3. The loss ends Skeen’s four-year career at UK.
Also seeing action in the opening round of the doubles tournament was the team of Mayorga and sophomore Sarah Witten, who, as the first-alternates, were placed in the competition as the three-seed when the duo of Paola Palencia and Ipek Senoglu of Pepperdine were forced to withdraw. The 29th-ranked UK team took advantage of its opportunity and knocked off 10th-ranked Kristina Krasweski and Darija Klaic from Washington, 7-6 (1), 6-3.
Mayorga and Witten will advance to tomorrow’s second round to face Simone Jardim and Kim Niggemeyer from Fresno State at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Should the tandem notch a win tomorrow, they will earn All-America status, becoming only the second team from UK to ever earn the honor. The first team was comprised of Sonia Hahn, now head coach for the Tennessee women’s tennis team, and partner Tamaka Takagi, who were named All-America in 1987 and 1988.
