Setting the Scene
LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The No. 22 Kentucky women?s tennis team (14-6) is looking to improve on its 7-1 Southeastern Conference record when the Wildcats play host to No. 34 South Carolina on Friday, and then travel to No. 7 Florida for their regular-season finale on Sunday. Kentucky has now won a season-best six consecutive matches. The match against the Gamecocks is slated to begin at 4 p.m. ET on Friday. The Wildcats will return to the courts on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET to battle the Gators. Fans can check ukathletics.com for live stats and recaps throughout the weekend.
Goodbye to You
Kentucky will honor senior Danielle Petrisko Friday before its match against South Carolina. The Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., native is Kentucky?s lone senior and has helped the Wildcats to an 82-32 record (.720 winning percentage) during her four-year career. The Wildcats have made three consecutive NCAA appearances and won the 2005 SEC Championship with Petrisko as a vital member of the squad.
Scouting the Opponents
South Carolina enters Friday?s match with an 11-6 record, including a 4-4 mark in conference action. The Gamecocks are currently ranked 38th and are coming off a 4-3 loss to Alabama on Sunday. South Carolina has been ranked as high as No. 19 this season in the ITA rankings.
Florida currently stands tied atop the SEC with a 15-1 record, including an 8-0 mark in conference play. The Gators are also currently ranked 3rd in the ITA rankings and are led by SEC player of the week Alexis Gordon. Gordon has a career record of 119-22 in singles matches and 87-31 in doubles. Florida will battle No. 7 Vanderbilt on Friday at 3 p.m. ET before hosting the Wildcats on Sunday.
Last Time Out
Kentucky extended its winning streak to a season-best six matches Sunday with a 6-1 victory over No. 22 Tennessee at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center. Kentucky got off to a hot start by sweeping the doubles matches to go up 1-0. Senior Danielle Petrisko and junior Caroline Winebrenner started the Cats? winning ways by blanking the Lady Vols? Samantha Orlin and Haley Pendergrass 8-0. The duo moved to 7-1 in the SEC this season. UK clinched the point when junior Kim Coventry and freshman Carolina Escamilla defeated UT?s Melissa Schaub and Ghizela Schutte 9-7. The team of Joelle Schwenk and Lara Maurer rounded out the Cats? doubles success by beating UT?s Vicky Jones and Blakeley Griffith (UT) 8-7.
On a day 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 last Friday to give UK the 4-3 victory over No. 25 Georgia at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center. The match began with UK jumping ahead 1-0 by winning the first two doubles matches. UK picked up its first singles win of the day when Joelle Schwenk defeated UGA?s Caroline Basu. Kentucky also got help from Carolina Escamilla and Jessica Giuggioli who each won their single matches in dramatic fashion.
Cats in the Rankings
Kentucky enters this weekend?s matches ranked 28th. Ten of the 12 Southeastern Conference teams are now ranked in the top-65.
Junior Kim Coventry is currently the Wildcats? lone ranked singles player at No. 47. The Melbourne, Australia, native has recorded 24 wins on the year. Coventry also teams with Schwenk to be the 48th-ranked doubles team.
History
South Carolina owns a 14-9 advantage in the all-time series with the Wildcats. Kentucky defeated the No. 30 ranked Gamecocks 4-3 last season in Columbia, S.C. Florida controls the series advantage against the Wildcats 1-27. Last, season, Kentucky upset the No. 2 ranked Gators in Lexington, marking the first ever victory for the Wildcats in the series.
On Tap
The Wildcats will conclude the regular season Saturday, April 15 in Nashville when Kentucky will face the Vanderbilt Commodores. The match is set for 1 p.m. ET and fans can check ukathletics.com for live scoring information.
