NASHVILLE ? The 23rd-ranked Kentucky women?s tennis team fell to No. 8 Vanderbilt, 5-2, on Saturday at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center in Nashville. With the loss, the Wildcats (15-8, 8-3 Southeastern Conference) conclude the regular season in third place in the SEC standings.
Vanderbilt got off to a good start when they took the doubles point to begin the match. The Commodores? Taka Bertrand and Amanda Fish scored an early 8-4 victory over Kentucky?s Kim Coventry and Carolina Escamilla. VU?s Amanda Taylor and Caroline Ferrell then topped UK?s Danielle Petrisko and Caroline Winebrenner 8-5 to clinch the doubles point. Lara Maurer and Joelle Schwenk salvaged the third doubles position for Kentucky with an 8-7(5) win over VU?s Liberty Sveke and Courtney Ulery.
The Commodores carried their momentum into singles action as Vanderbilt made quick work of UK?s top two players. Fish knocked off Coventry 6-0, 6-2 at the top spot in the lineup while Bertrand defeated Maurer 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 2 position. Caroline Ferrell clinched the match by topping Escamilla 7-6, 6-3 after pulling off a hard-fought victory in the first set at the No. 5 spot.
The Cats captured their two singles victories at the No. 4 and 6 spots in the lineup. Petrisko got UK on the board with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 win over VU?s Ulery while freshman Jessica Giuggioli swept the ?Dores Maggie Yahner 6-3, 7-5. Giuggioli, a native of Torino, Italy, finished the season a team-best 9-1 in the SEC.
The Wildcats return to action April 20-23 when they travel to Gainesville, Fla., to participate in the SEC Tournament. Complete results and a recap will be available at ukathletics.com.
No. 8 Vandy def. No. 23 UK 5-2
Doubles
1. Bertrand/Fish, VU def. Coventry/Escamilla, UK 8-4
2. Maurer/Schwenk, UK def. Ulery/Liberty Sveke, VU 8-7(5)
3. Taylor/Ferrell, VU def. Petrisko/Caroline Winebrenner 8-5
Singles
1. Amanda Fish, VU def. Kim Coventry, UK 6-0, 6-2
2. Taka Bertrand, VU def. Lara Maurer, UK 6-1, 6-2
3. Amanda Taylor, VU def. Joelle Schwenk, UK 6-7, 7-6(8), 1-0(8)
4. Danielle Petrisko, UK def. Courtney Ulery, VU 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
5. Caroline Ferrell, VU def. Carolina Escamilla, UK 7-6, 6-3
6. Jessica Giuggioli, UK def. Maggie Yahner, VU 6-3, 7-5
