LEXINGTON, Ky. ? On a day the when the No. 28 Kentucky women?s tennis team received its 2005 Southeastern Conference championship rings, freshman Carolina Escamilla came through in the clutch to win the final match Friday to give UK the 4-3 victory over No. 25 Georgia at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center. The win moved the Cats to 13-6 (6-1 SEC) on the season.
The match began with UK jumping ahead 1-0 by winning the first two doubles matches in dominating fashion. At the No. 1 spot in the lineup, junior Kim Coventry and Escamilla took down UGA?s Caroline Basu and Natalie Frazier 8-2. At the No. 2 spot, juniors Lara Maurer and Joelle Schwenk recorded their fifth SEC win by defeating Georgia?s Darya Ivanov and Evgenia Subbotina 8-1.
Singles action began with the Bulldogs taking a 2-1 lead by winning at the No. 1 and 4 spots in the lineup.
UK picked up its first singles win when Schwenk defeated UGA?s Basu. The Coconut Creek, Fla., native improved her SEC record to 6-1 with a 7-6, 6-3, win over Basu.
The Dawgs went up 3-2 when Subbotina beat Maurer in a tightly contested three set match. Subbotina took the first set 6-4 before Maurer came back to win the second 6-2. In the final set, Subbotina pulled away to win 6-4 to take the match.
At the No. 6 spot, freshman Jessica Giuggioli improved her winning streak to eight matches and tied the match for UK. The Torino, Italy, breezed past Georgia?s Sara Lett 6-1, 6-2, to remain a perfect 7-0 in SEC play and forced the decisive final match.
In the day?s final match, Escamilla came through with a three-set victory. The Medellin, Colombia, native dropped the first set 3-6, before rebounding to take the second set 6-3. In the final set, Escamilla went to the tiebreaker and pulled out the victory 7-6 (4). Escamilla also extended her winning streak to eight matches and is a perfect 7-0 in SEC action.
?I am really proud of our team?s performance,? head coach Carlos Drada said. ?Carolina Escamilla and Jessica Giuggioli played with a lot of focus and determination. They both showed great discipline and concentration under intense pressure. We hope to continue to play with this same type of energy in the rest of our matches.?
The Cats will return to the Boone Tennis Center this Sunday at noon EST when they battle No. 20 Tennessee. Fans can check ukathletics.com for live stats and recap following the match.
No. 28 UK def. No. 25 UGA 4-3
Doubles
1.Coventry/Escamilla (UK) def. Basu/Frazier (UGA) – 8-2
2.Schwenk/Maurer (UK) def. Ivanov/Subbotina (UGA) – 8-1
3.Hyndman/Lett (UGA) def. Petrisko/Winebrenner (UK) – 8-5
Singles
1.Natalie Frazier (UGA) def. Kim Coventry (UK) – 6-2, 6-3
2.Evgenia Subbotina (UGA) def. Lara Maurer (UK) – 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
3.Joelle Schwenk (UK) def. Caroline Basu (UGA) – 7-6, 6-3
