Southeastern Conference leader Kentucky maintained its position atop the league standings with help from the bottom half of its singles lineup, as the Cats tallied a 5-2 victory over No. 27 Alabama (6-11, 1-7) Sunday afternoon in Tuscaloosa. UK extends its win streak to 13 matches and improves to 19-3 overall and 8-0 in the conference. The only team to remain unbeaten in league play, Kentucky has already matched its 19 wins from a season ago and surpassed its 2004 total of six conference victories.
Kentucky began the match by completing its 12th doubles sweep on the season and third in a row. The sixth-ranked duo of senior Aibika Kalsarieva and sophomore Sarah Foster won its 10th-consecutive doubles match and improved to 7-0 in the conference by defeating Alabama?s Natalie McElveen and Robin Stephenson by an 8-6 count at the first doubles slot. Senior Emily Foster and sophomore Lara Maurer clinched the point with an 8-3 win at the No. 3 position over Melissa Minor and Andrea Brenes. The 17th-ranked tandem of sophomores Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk added a tiebreak victory at the No. 2 position over Ashley Bentley and Mari Muller.
Schwenk added to the Kentucky tally an easy 6-0, 6-1 win over the Tide?s Muller at the No. 4 singles position, giving the Cats a 2-0 lead. UK junior Danielle Petrisko chalked up her sixth-consecutive victory at the sixth-singles slot, defeating Alabama?s Andreas Brenes also by a 6-0, 6-1 count to extend the Wildcat lead to 3-0.
Alabama?s Bentley put the Tide on the board at the No. 2 slot and ended Coventry?s 12-match win streak with a 6-4, 6-2 win. The No. 1 singles slot featured two of the SEC?s top-ranked players, UK?s sixth-ranked Kalsarieva and ?Bama?s seventh-ranked Stephenson. Kalsarieva avenged a defeat to Stephenson in the fall by clinching the match for Kentucky, defeating Stephenson, 7-5, 6-3. Kalsarieva, the only remaining unbeaten player in SEC play and a leading contender for SEC Player of the Year, improves to 29-5 overall and 8-0 in the conference and extends her unbeaten streak to 15 matches.
Maurer contributed Kentucky?s fifth point by way of her fifth-consecutive win, defeating Alabama?s McElveen by a 6-3, 7-5 count at the No. 5 slot to improve to 6-2 in conference play. Maurer, along with Schwenk, Petrisko and sophomore Christine Simpson, have provided a steadying presence to the bottom half of the Wildcat lineup with its collective 17-7 singles record in SEC matches.
UK?s Sarah Foster rallied from a one-set deficit to split sets with the Tide?s Melissa Minor at the No. 3 slot, but Minor prevailed in the ensuing supertiebreak third set to score the final Alabama point.
Kentucky improves to 6-1 in road matches and will face its toughest road obstacle yet later this week when the Cats travel to Athens, Ga. to take on No. 3 Georgia, who, with Vanderbilt, sits one game behind Kentucky in the SEC standings.
No. 5 Kentucky 5, No. 27 Alabama 2
Doubles
1. No. 6 S. Foster/Kalsarieva (UK) def. McElveen/Stephenson (UA) ? 8-6
2. No. 17 Coventry/Schwenk (UK) def. Bentley/Muller (UA) ? 9-8 (2)
3. E. Foster/Maurer (UK) def. Minor/Brenes (UA) ? 8-3
Singles
1. No. 6 Aibika Kalsarieva (UK) def. No. 7 Robin Stephenson (UA) ? 7-5, 6-3
2. No. 58 Ashley Bentley (UK) def. No. 31 Kim Coventry (UK) ? 6-4, 6-2
3. Melissa Minor (UA) def. No. 46 Sarah Foster (UK) ? 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6)
4. Joelle Schwenk (UK) def. Mari Muller (UA) ? 6-0, 6-1
5. Lara Maurer (UK) def. Natalie McElveen (UA) ? 6-3, 7-5
6. Danielle Petrisko (UK) def. Andrea Brenes (UA) ? 6-0, 6-1
