April 5, 2002
Lexington, Ky. – The 15th-ranked University of Kentucky women’s tennis team tallied a crucial 7-0 win over 33rd-ranked Alabama on Friday, April 5, in impressive fashion at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center on the UK campus. The Wildcats (14-5) grabbed the momentum early and rode past the Tide (12-7) for a pivotal Southeastern Conference victory.
The Cats got an early lead by registering the match’s opening point. UK received wins on courts one and three to take the doubles point. Seventh-ranked Carolina Mayorga and Sarah Witten, along with the newly formed pair of Jill Buckley and Shannon Stafford, both downed Crimson Tide duos to give UK the early 1-0 lead.
In singles competition, the Wildcats picked up three quick wins to clinch the match before winning the remaining three matches to complete the sweep of Alabama and score the 7-0 shutout victory. Mayorga and junior Leigh Bradwell notched straight sets wins before Stafford clinched the match with a three-set victory over Becca Baum. Witten, Buckley and Lauren Rookledge also recorded wins to round out the perfect day for UK.
“This week was full of adversity for us and it is a great feeling to come out of this match with a win,” Stafford said. “We played with a lot of passion and desire today. This entire team gave it everything we had.”
UK defeated the Crimson Tide with a remarkable performance without the services of standout Amy Trefethen. Trefethen is nursing a quadriceps injury that has her listed as day-to-day.”This is the most deserved victory we have had in a long, long time,” Coach Mark Guilbeau said. “Alabama is a good team, but today we displayed more heart, more focus and better execution than ever before, regardless of the score. I am very proud of the desire of this team and the leaders who bring it out.”
The Cats will look to continue their solid play as the SEC-West leading Auburn Tigers travel to Lexington on Sunday, April 7. The match will be a homecoming for former Wildcat star Kelly Brown, who now serves as Auburn’s assistant coach. The match is slated to begin at noon at the Boone Tennis Complex.
AgateUK 7, UA 0Singles1. #44 Sarah Witten (UK) def. Selia Mathew (UA), 1-6, 6-2, 7-52. #37 Carolina Mayorga (UK) def. Jenny Ketchum (UA), 7-6, 6-03. #108 Lauren Rookledge (UK) def. Millie Begovic (UA), 5-7, 6-4, 6-34. Jill Buckley (UK) def. Sophie Cremers (UA), 6-4, 4-6, 6-35. Leigh Bradwell (UK) def. Weyli Chang (UA), 6-4, 6-26. Shannon Stafford (UK) def. Becca Baum (UA), 2-6, 6-2, 6-1Doubles1. #7 Witten/Mayorga (UK) def. Begovic/Chang (UA), 8-42. #50 Bradwell/Rookledge (UK) def. Cremers/Ketchum (UA), susp.3. Stafford/Buckley (UK) def. Mathew/Baum (UA), 8-5
