AUBURN, Ala. ? The No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats (15-8 overall, 6-6 SEC) played in the first round of the 2008 SEC Tournament against No. 52 Ole Miss (7-15, 3-9) Thursday morning. UK controlled the match and kept opponent points to a minimum with a 4-0 win over the Rebels.
Kicking off the 2008 SEC Tennis Tournament was a huge doubles point win by the Wildcats. The crucial win was decided by courts two and three. Nika Koukhartchouk and Karen Nijssen from Ole Miss took the first court, 8-4, defeating the No. 49 duo of Christine Johnston and Carolina Escamilla. Freshman Lauren Meier and sophomore Whitney Spencer of Kentucky were pitted against Preethi Subramania and Soledad Podlipnik on court three. After keeping the score close at 5-4, Meier and Spencer stepped up their game and won the match, 8-4.
With split doubles, the point came down to court two. Wildcat freshman team of Alaina Trgovich and Megan Broderick held the point decision for UK. Every hit was made with anticipation. Laura van de Stroet and Mimi Renaudin of the Rebels retaliated each serve and kept the score tight. Trgovich aced the Ole Miss pair to help lift the Cats to an 8-7 lead. Ole Miss tied the match at 8-8, taking the court to a seven-point tie ?breaker. After evening the tie-break to 3-3, Trgovich and Broderick stole the show and came out with the win, 7-3. Kentucky headed into singles action with a 1-0 lead over the Rebels.
The Wildcats extended their lead to 2-0 with the first singles win on court five. UK?s Meier dominated the match, allowing only two opponent points. The Kentucky freshman rolled Podlipnik of the Rebels in a 6-2, 6-0 decision.
Hammering in the third point for the Wildcats was No. 102 Broderick on court one. After a close 6-4 first set, Broderick shut the door on Koukhartchouk of Ole Miss with a 6-2 second set result. The Cats continued to hold the lead at 3-0.
Securing the match and keeping Kentucky in the tournament, was Spencer on court six. The first set went to a tie-break with UK winning, 7-6(2). A suspenseful second also followed. With courts two and four in third sets and a close second set on court three, it was still anyone?s game. Spencer stayed strong throughout the match and kept the score close at 6-6 with Ole Miss?s Renaudin. Spencer out-muscled Renaudin throughout the day in all tie-breakers. The Wildcat controlled the deciding point, allowing only one Rebel point in the tie-break for a 7-6(1) victory.
The game was called after the Cats took the fourth point and sealed the team win. Johnston on court three finished ahead, taking the first set 6-2 and leading in the third set, 3-2, against Ole Miss?s van de Stroet. UK?s Trgovich also split the match on court four and ended with a tied 3-3 score in the third set with Subramania. Escamilla for the Cats was on court two and kept the second tied at 4-4 after falling in the first round 7-5 to Nijessen of the Rebels.
?Today was a solid start for a very important weekend,? Head Coach Carlos Drada stated. ?We hope we can gain a lot of momentum from today?s match and can improve our performance tomorrow against Georgia.?
Kentucky will continue into the second round of the SEC tournament on Friday April 18 to face the second-seed and No. 8 team in the nation, the Georgia Bulldogs (17-4, 9-2). Georgia had a bye for the first round. The Cats played UGA in Lexington, Ky. earlier this season, but fell to the Dogs 5-2. Serving time is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT at Auburn?s Yarborough Tennis Center.
?I think the team played really well today,? freshman Lauren Meier stated. ?We all competed well and are prepared for anything that comes our way.?
Tournament information and live stats will be available on the Auburn website at auburntigers.cstv.com. For complete coverage of the Kentucky women?s tennis team visit, www.ukathletics.com.
#22 Kentucky 4, #52 Ole Miss 0
Singles
1: Megan Broderick (UK) def. Nika Koukhartchouk (OLE MISS), 6-4, 6-2
2: Carolina Escamilla (UK) vs. Karen Nijssen (OLE MISS), 5-7, 4-4, susp.
3: Christine Johnston (UK) vs. Laura van de Stroet (OLE MISS), 6-2, 5-7, 3-2, susp.
4: Alaina Trgovich (UK) vs. Preethi Sabramania (OLE MISS), 4-6, 6-1, 3-3, susp.
5: Lauren Meier (UK) def. Soledad Podlipnik (OLE MISS), 6-2, 6-0
6: Whitney Spencer (UK) def. Mimi Renaudin (OLE MISS), 7-6(2), 7-6(1)
Doubles
1: Koukhartchouk/Nijssen (OLE MISS) def. Escamilla/Johnston (UK), 8-4
2: Broderick/Trgovich (UK) def. van de Stroet/Renaudin (OLE MISS), 9-8(3)
3: Spencer/Meier (UK) def. Subramania/Podlipnik (OLE MISS), 8-4
