LEXINGTON, Ky.- The No. 34 Kentucky women?s tennis team kicked off its 2008 dual-match season in fine fashion on Saturday, defeating Marshall 6-1 and Winthrop 7-0 at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center.

The Wildcats (2-0), wearing a new-look black uniform, overpowered a determined Marshall team in the opening match of the day.

The nation?s 20th-ranked doubles tandem of Carolina Escamilla (Medellin, Columbia) and Christine Johnston (Columbus, Ohio) fell to No. 15 Kellie Schmitt and Karolina Soor of Marshall in a hard-fought 9-7 decision. Sarah Woestmann (Wallenhoerst, Germany) and Megan Broderick (Tampa, Fla.) took down Jeanne Schwartz and Thaddea Lock in an easy 8-1 victory, while Whitney Spencer (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Alaina Trgovich (Munster, Ind.) defeated Jessica Keener and Yulia Kashelkina 8-4 to earn the Cats the doubles point.

Schmidt, the nation?s 19th-ranked singles player, defeated Broderick, 6-3, 6-0 at the No. 1 position, but the Wildcats went undefeated at the rest of their singles positions. Woestmann, ranked 69th in the nation, won a hard-fought 7-6 decision against Soor in the first set before sweeping the second set 6-0. Johnston knocked off Isabel Raich, 6-0, 6-3 and Trgovich defeated Schwartz, 6-4, 6-4. Escamilla defeated Lock at the five position, 6-2, 6-3, before Spencer closed out the singles portion with a 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 win on court six.

?Today was a great start for the team,? UK head coach Carlos Drada said. ?We want to continue to work on the little things that will help our team in the long run. We have players this year that are eager to give their best effort on a continued basis.”

The Wildcats got off to a fast start against Winthrop in the nightcap and never looked back. Kentucky swept each of its singles and doubles matches en route to a 7-0 victory.

Trgovich, Woestmann and Escamilla were all able to beat their opponent in singles matches by only giving up one game over the course of the entire match.

?We played with great intensity against Winthrop,? Drada said. ?We pulled together and took what we learned from earlier in the morning and executed very well in our second match.?

Kentucky returns to action Sunday, Jan. 27, when it plays host to Michigan. Opening serve at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center is slated for 12 p.m. EST.

Kentucky 6, Marshall 1

Singles

Kellie Schmitt (Marshall) def. Megan Broderick (UK), 6-3, 6-0
Sarah Woestmann (UK) def. Karolina Soor (Marshall), 7-6, 6-0
Christine Johnston (UK) def. Isabell Raich (Marshall), 6-0, 6-4
Alaina Trgovich (UK) def. Jeanne Schwartz (Marshall), 6-4, 6-4
Carolina Escamilla (UK) def. Thaddea Lock (Marshall), 6-2, 6-3
Whitney Spencer (UK) def. Jessica Keener (Marshall), 2-6, 6-3, 1-0

Doubles

Schmitt/Soor (Marshall) def. Escamilla/Johnston (UK), 9-7
Broderick/Woestmann (UK) def. Lock/Schwartz (Marshall), 8-1
Trgovich/Spencer (UK) def. Keener/Kashelkina (Marshall), 8-4

Kentucky 7, Winthrop 0

Singles

Megan Broderick (UK) def. Zaytseva (Winthrop), 6-3, 6-3
Sarah Woestmann (UK) def. Abutovic (Winthrop), 6-1, 6-0
Christine Johnston (UK) def. Coimbra (Winthrop), 6-3, 6-2
Alaina Trgovich (UK) def. Wilkinson (Winthrop), 6-1, 6-0
Carolina Escamilla (UK) def. Pereira (Winthrop), 6-0, 6-1
Whitney Spencer (UK) def. Fadina (Winthrop), 6-3, 6-2
Doubles

Escamilla/Johnston (UK) def. Coimbra/Zaysteva (Winthrop), 8-3
Broderick/Woestmann (UK) def. Wilkinson/Abutovic (Winthrop), 8-1
Trgovich/Spencer (UK) Def. Pereira/Fadina (Winthrop), 8-4