MADISON, Wis. ? Kentucky senior Kim Coventry?s hard-fought win at No. 3 singles over Duke?s Jenny Zika was the deciding factor in the Cats? thrilling 4-3 semifinal victory over the sixth-seeded Blue Devils Saturday at the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships at Wisconsin?s Nielsen Tennis Stadium. As a result, unseeded and 14th-ranked Kentucky will make its first appearance in a national-title match Sunday against top-ranked Stanford. The USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship serves as the indoor equivalent of the NCAA outdoor championships held every May. Kentucky is one of only eight schools ever to play in the event final.
?I don?t think there could be a more perfect way for this program to reach a national-championship match,? UK Coach Mark Guilbeau said. ?The fact that it took close to five hours and several three setters and 12 team match points is perfectly symbolic of the hard work, perseverance and many, many steps that this program has taken to reach this level.?
At the No. 3 doubles slot, UK?s Lara Maurer and Christine Simpson held serve to open the match, but Duke?s Clelia Deltour and Parker Goyer would soon take over. The Blue Devils took the next five games on their way to an 8-3 win. Kentucky?s Sarah Foster and Aibika Kalsarieva broke the serve of Duke?s Jackie Carleton and Katie Blaszak in the third game and raced to a 5-2 lead. Foster and Kalsarieva went on to even the doubles tally at one with an 8-4 win.
At the second doubles slot, UK jumped out to a 3-1 lead before the Blue Devils ran off wins in four consecutive games to take a 5-3 lead. UK and Duke exchanged service breaks over the next three games before Kentucky evened the tally at six with a service hold. The two teams held serve once more before Kentucky managed a timely service break with a Coventry forehand down the line for an 8-7 Kentucky lead. UK took a 40-love lead behind Schwenk?s serve, and after Duke saved two match points, the Devils sent a forehand beyond the service line to give Kentucky the doubles point.
?Aibika (Kalsarieva) and Sarah (Foster) have been so solid for us and have given us the opportunity to take some chances on courts two and three,? Guilbeau said. ?For Kim (Coventry) and Joelle (Schwenk) to face match game for the point and to completely trust in each other, their positions and good doubles strategy was very impressive.?
UK?s Kalsarieva held a 6-2, 1-0 lead at the first singles position when Duke?s Carleton was forced to retire due to an injury, giving Kentucky a 2-0 lead. Duke?s Blaszak quickly responded at the second singles slot with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Foster to cut the Blue Devil deficit to 2-1. Duke?s Deltour evened the tally at two with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Schwenk at the fourth singles position.
With the match even at two, UK relied on help from the bottom half of its lineup to turn the tide back in its favor. UK?s Maurer took the first set, 6-4 at the fifth singles position over the Blue Devils? Tory Zawacki and thwarted a furious attempt from Duke to push the match to a third set. Trailing 4-5 in the second set, Maurer produced a crucial service break of Zawacki to even the count at five games all. Maurer used her serve to her advantage in the following game to take a 6-5 lead and broke Zawacki one more time to reclaim the lead for Kentucky.
?The wins by Aibika and Lara obviously were critical to the overall team outcome. They were both as intelligent and efficient on the court as they have ever been. Even the matches we lost were played with great effort and determination. Once again, it was an entire team effort.?
Undaunted, Duke rallied at the No. 6 spot, as Saras Arasu came from behind to defeat Danielle Petrisko, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, setting the stage for a memorable match clincher at the third singles position.
After Coventry produced a 6-4 first-set win over Zika, the two exchanged service holds through the first ten games of the set before Coventry broke Zika in the 11th game, allowing her to serve for the match at 6-5. However, Zika saved two match points and won the game to force a lengthy tiebreaker.
Coventry put herself in a favorable position by taking a 3-0 lead, but Zika followed suit by taking the next three points. Coventry took the next two points for a 5-3 lead, Zika drew within 5-4, and Coventry added another point to create two team-match point opportunities. Coventry failed to convert the match points and subsequently established four more fruitless match points. Zika took advantage of the situation and registered the final two points to force a third set.
Coventry held serve to begin the final set and saved a game point in the second game to break Zika?s serve and assume a 2-0 lead. Serving the third game, Coventry later capitalized on a missed Duke break-point opportunity and held serve for a 3-0 lead. Zika held service in the following game, though Coventry surrendered only one point in the next game to open up a 4-1lead. Zika tightened the pressure on Coventry by holding serve and breaking Coventry to pull within 4-3.
With Coventry facing Zika?s serve and a game point, the Australian saved the point and later another game point to stretch her lead to 5-3. Serving the decisive ninth game, Coventry opened with a forehand winner down the line and benefited from two Zika return errors to assume a 40-love lead. After a pair of errant ground strokes on the fourth and fifth points, Coventry delivered on her 12th match point, as Zika?s final forehand sailed out of bounds to preserve the 4-3 Wildcat victory.
?We are all so proud of Kim,? Guilbeau said. ?I think it is very important that every member of this team be prepared to be in a situation like Kim was in tonight. She has put in the work and taken responsibility for her game to such a degree that she could handle that tough of a match. I believe we have a team full of kids that could that same role.
?So many teams and so many kids from within our program, past and present, have deserved to experience a tournament like this and team championship match like this. This team has truly earned the success it?s having and is making the most of its opportunities. There is not enough space to properly explain how proud this coaching staff is of this group. Every player is giving everything they have, and we are becoming a very, very strong group.
?Nothing mattered more tonight than simply not giving in and believing that they could each execute a winning game plan. We are so excited to be in the final and, more importantly, are prepared to play a great match. We intend to use all that we are learning and all of the steps we are taking to become an even better team. These kids represent themselves and the University of Kentucky in the greatest possible manner. I am very grateful for all of their efforts.?
Sunday?s opponent, Stanford, will make its 13th appearance in the final of this event seeking its eighth title. The Cardinal are unbeaten in their last 33 matches dating back to their 4-3 loss to Florida in the 2003 NCAA outdoor team title match. One win in the streak was a 4-0 defeat of Kentucky in the round of 16 at the 2004 NCAA Tennis Championships.
UK will take on the Cardinal at 11 a.m. CST looking for its first national championship, team or individual, in tennis. Sunday?s final will mark the first appearance in the finals of a national-championship tournament for a University of Kentucky athletic team since the school?s men?s golf program qualified for the final round of the 2004 NCAA Golf Championships last June.
Live scoring for Sunday?s match will be available at www.itatennis.com.
No. 14 Kentucky 4, No. 8 Duke 3
Doubles
1. No. 6 Foster/Kalsarieva (UK) def. No. 42 Carleton/Blaszak (DU) ? 8-4
2. No. 11 Coventry/Schwenk (UK) def. Zika/Cargill (DU) ? 9-7
3. Deltour/Goyer (DU) def. Maurer/Simpson (UK) ? 8-3
Singles
1. No. 7 Aibika Kalsarieva (UK) def. No. 56 Jackie Carleton (DU) ? 6-2, 1-0, ret.
2. No. 115 Katie Blaszak (DU) def. No. 30 Sarah Foster (UK) ? 6-3, 6-1
3. No. 58 Kim Coventry (UK) def. No. 108 Jenny Zika (DU) ? 6-4, 6-7 (10), 6-3
4. Clelia Deltour (DU) def. Joelle Schwenk (UK) ? 6-1, 6-2
5. Lara Maurer (UK) def. Tory Zawacki (DU) ? 6-4, 7-5
6. Saras Arasu (DU) def. Danielle Petrisko (UK) ? 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
