Gainesville, Fla. ? The third-seeded Kentucky women?s tennis team overcame the rain and the sixth-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament by registering a 4-1 victory at Florida?s Ring Tennis Complex. The 21st-ranked Cats avenged their loss to the Tide on March 5 and will face off against the tourney?s second-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday. Kentucky advances to the semifinals for the fourth consecutive year and the sixth time in the program?s history.

The Wildcats (16-8, 9-3 SEC) got off to a hot start by earning the doubles point despite being delayed three hours by rain. The Cats? team of senior Danielle Petrisko and junior Caroline Winebrenner captured the first victory of the day by a count of 8-4 over ‘Bama?s Melissa Day and Shelley Godwin. The win marked the ninth for the UK duo over SEC opponents this season. The nation?s 35th-ranked doubles team of junior Kim Coventry and freshman Carolina Escamilla clinched the point for UK when they upset Alabama?s 14th-ranked tandem of Ashley Bentley and Robin Stephenson 8-6 at the top spot in the lineup.

Kentucky continued to turn the heat up on the Tide by taking three out of four singles matches to clinch the victory and advance to Saturday?s semifinals.

All-SEC second team selection Petrisko made quick work of ?Bama?s Natalie McElveen at the No. 4 position to put UK up 2-1 to stay. The Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., native swept McElveen 6-4, 6-0 after Coventry fell to No. 19 Stephenson 6-1, 6-0 at the top spot in the lineup.

Fellow second team All-SEC selection freshman Jessica Giuggioli put the Cats up 3-1 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over UA?s Sofia Ayala at the No. 6 position. The victory marked the 10th against an SEC opponent for the Torino, Italy, native.

The match was clinched when Schwenk, who made first team All-SEC, defeated the Tide?s Mari Muller at the No. 3 hole. The Coconut Creek, Fla., native made quick work of Muller in the first set winning 6-1 and outlasted her opponent 7-6 (7-4) in the second set. Schwenk evened the score with Muller whom she lost to back on March 5.

“This is a great time for the UK women’s tennis team,” head coach Carlos Drada said. “Everyone played with a lot of focus during many pressure filled situations. We were eager to play well and improve our performance after losing to Alabama earlier this season. We will use this momentum in order to improve our level during the match tomorrow.”

UK will return to the courts at 2 p.m. EDT to battle No. 8 Vanderbilt. The contest will mark the second time this week the Cats and the ?Dores have faced off against each other. On Sunday, Vandy defeated Kentucky 5-2 in Nashville to conclude the regular season. Fans can check ukathletics.com for live stats and a recap following the match?s conclusion.

No. 21 Kentucky 4, No. 33 Alabama 1 (SEC Quarterfinals)

Doubles

No. 1 #35 Coventry/Escamilla, UK, def. #14 Bentley/Stephenson, UA, 8-6
No. 2 #45 Schwenk/Maurer, UK, vs. Brenes/Muller, UA, 6-5 suspended
No. 3 Petrisko/Winebrenner, UK, def. Day/Godwin, UA, 8-4

Singles

No. 1 #19 Robin Stephenson, UA, def. #46 Kim Coventry, UK, 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 Lara Maurer, UK, vs. #102 Ashley Bentley, UA, 6-7 (4), 2-3, suspended
No. 3 Joelle Schwenk, UK, def. Mari Muller, UA, 6-1, 7-6 (4)
No. 4 Danielle Petrisko, UK, def. Natalie McElveen, UA, 6-4, 6-0
No. 5 Carolina Escamilla, UK, vs. Shelley Godwin, UA, 6-2, 2-6, 2-2, suspended
No. 6 Jessica Giuggioli, UK, def. Sofia Ayala, UA, 6-2, 6-2