April 18, 2002

Columbia, S.C. – The 16th-ranked University of Kentucky women’s tennis team exacted revenge on the LSU Tigers on Thursday, April 18, as the Wildcats (16-7) rolled to a 4-1 victory over the Tigers (12-12) in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Championships on the University of South Carolina campus.

The Wildcats were out of the gates quickly as they wrapped up the match’s opening point by registering victories on two of three doubles courts. Seventh-ranked Carolina Mayorga and Sarah Witten picked up an impressive 8-3 win over 19th-ranked Bruna Colosio and Rocio Tantilli, while Amy Trefethen and Jill Buckley tallied a win over Perri Budd and Amanda Mang. The match was the first action Trefethen had seen since March when she suffered a quadriceps injury that sidelined her for the Cats’ final four regular-season matches.

In singles action, the Cats used their momentum to pick up three straight-set wins to clinch the match and advance. Senior Lauren Rookledge, junior Leigh Bradwell and Buckley all scored singles wins to close out the Wildcat victory.

“This was a big win for us and it gives us some confidence going into tomorrow’s match against Florida,” Coach Mark Guilbeau said. “We have had some tough times this season with injuries and other distractions, but we played well today and picked up a solid victory.”

The Cats now advance to the second round of the Championships, which boast six teams ranked in the nation’s Top 20. UK will face the third-ranked Florida Gators at 2 p.m. on Friday. The second-seeded Gators finished the regular season with a 24-3 record and defeated the Cats 5-2 earlier this season in Gainesville. SEC Player of the Year Jessica Lehnhoff will play the top spot for the Gators in both singles and doubles.

AgateUK 4, LSU 1Singles1. #41 Bruna Colosio (LSU) def. #57 Sarah Witten (UK), 6-2, 6-22. #43 Carolina Mayorga (UK) v. Rocio Tantilli (LSU), DNF3. #101 Lauren Rookledge (UK) def. #116 Tami Botts (LSU), 6-4, 6-24. Amy Trefethen (UK) v. Amanda Mang (LSU), DNF5. Jill Buckley (UK) def. Amy McIlhaney (LSU), 6-1, 6-06. Leigh Bradwell (UK) def. Perri Budd (LSU), 6-1, 6-2

Doubles1. #7 Witten/Mayorga (UK) def. #19 Colosio/Tantilli (LSU), 8-32. Botts/McIlhaney (LSU) def. Bradwell/Rookledge (UK), 8-53. Trefethen/Buckley (UK) def. Mang/Budd (LSU), 8-3