Feb. 2, 2002
The University of Kentucky women’s tennis team picked up the biggest win of its young season on Saturday, Feb. 2, with a 4-3 upset of 13th-ranked Notre Dame. The Cats improved to 6-1 on the year as they handed the Fighting Irish (3-1) their first loss of the season.
“I am happier for this team than I have ever been,” Coach Mark Guilbeau said. “They deserved this win.”
UK tallied the first point of the match by winning two out of three doubles matches. Senior Lauren Rookledge and junior Leigh Bradwell got things started for the Cats by handily defeating 53rd-ranked Sarah Jane Connelly and Katie Cunha, 8-4. The seventh-ranked duo of senior Carolina Mayorga and junior Sarah Witten then clinched the doubles point with a win over 29th-ranked Lindsey Green and Becky Varnum.
The Wildcats carried the momentum into singles competition, as they were victorious in the first three matches off the court to secure the dual-match upset. Mayorga, Witten and junior Jill Buckley all registered straight-set singles victories to close out the match for UK.
“This is just a cool feeling,” Buckley said. “We really feel that this season is only going to get better if we stay focused and continue to work hard.”
“We are very excited and very happy with our performance,” Rookledge said. “Coming in, we knew this would be a difficult test, but everyone really stepped up today and played tough.”
The Cats will look to stay on the winning track as they continue their Indiana road trip and battle Purdue on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 1:00 p.m.
AgateUK 4, ND 3Singles1. Carolina Mayorga (#30), UK def. Becky Varnum (#58), ND,7-5, 6-42. Sarah Witten (#53), UK def. Lindsey Green, ND,7-5, 6-23. Nina Vaughan, ND def. Lauren Rookledge, UK, 7-6, 7-64. Katie Cunha, ND def. Amy Trefethen (#92), UK, 7-6, 3-6, 6-15. Alicia Salas, ND def. Leigh Bradwell, UK, 6-7, 6-2, 7-56. Jill Buckley, UK def. Sarah Jane Connelly, ND, 6-0, 7-6Doubles1. Witten/Mayorga (#7), UK def. Green/Varnum (#29), ND, 8-62. Bradwell/Rookledge (#49), UK def. Connelly/Cuhna (#53), ND, 8-43. Salas/Vaughan, ND def. Trefethen/Jill Buckley (#27), UK, 8-4
