March 15, 2009
BATON ROUGE, La. – Kentucky’s No. 13 women’s tennis team (9-3 overall, 1-3 Southeastern Conference) fell in just their second road match of the season. The Wildcats dropped a 4-3 decision to the No. 20 LSU Tigers (8-4, 1-2 SEC) Sunday afternoon at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“We played a tough LSU team,” Head Coach Carlos Drada said. “Like any SEC match, this one came down to the little details which can have a big impact in the outcome of the match, and today it did. We will bounce back and learn from this experience. I am proud of our players and feel confident of their future performances.”
The match started with singles play. LSU had the lead at 3-2 as the win or tie came down to court two. The Tigers’ Mykala Hedberg defeated senior Carolina Escamilla in an intense three-set duel. Hedberg took the first set, playing an extra game for the 7-5 win. But Escamilla took the second, 6-4. Tied at 4-4 in the third, LSU snatched the win with a 6-4 decision.
Wins for Kentucky came on courts three and five. Christine Johnston also had a three set match after she dropped the first 6-4 to LSU’s Whitney Wolf. Johnston would only allow three games in the next two sets as she defeated her opponent 6-1, 6-2. Sophomore Lauren Meier found victory on court five as well. Meier nabbed a close 7-5 first set followed by a solid 6-4 second set over Hannah Robinson.
Freshman Caroline Lilley found only her second loss of the season on court six to Staten Spencer of LSU. Spencer defeated the Wildcat, 6-3, 6-2 in straight sets. Lilley holds a 9-2 record in singles, one of the best on the team behind Johnston’s 10-2 record.
On other courts, No. 96 Megan Broderick suffered defeat to No. 12 Megan Flacon on court one, 7-6, 6-0. Kentucky’s Whitney Spencer fell to Nicole Kantor, 6-4, 6-0.
Although singles ended with a 4-2 result, the teams finished the day with doubles.
Court two with Johnston and Broderick concluded first. The UK duo defeated Robinson and Wolf convincingly with an 8-1 decision, setting the stage for Kentucky to win the doubles. LSU’s No. 17 pair of Falcon and Hedberg evened out the stage with an 8-2 win over UK’s No. 53 Escamilla and Lilley.
The third and final court was left to decide the point. Meier and Spencer took to the net for Kentucky as Kantor and Spencer lined up for the Tigers. After keeping it close, UK pulled away for an 8-4 win and the doubles point.
Kentucky will next face No. 5 Baylor on Wednesday, March 18 in Waco, Texas. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. ET.
No. 13 Kentucky 3, No. 20 LSU 4
Singles
1. #12 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. #96 Megan Broderick (UK), 7-6, 6-0
2. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Carolina Escamilla (UK), 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
3. Christine Johnston (UK) def. Whitney Wolf (LSU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Whitney Spencer (UK), 6-4, 6-0
5. Lauren Meier (UK) def. Hannah Robinson, 7-5, 6-4
6. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Caroline Lilley (UK), 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
1. #17 Falcon/Hedberg (LSU) def. #53 Escamilla/Lilley (UK), 8-2
2. Johnston/Broderick (UK) def. Robinson/Wolf (LSU), 8-1
3. Meier/Spencer (UK) def. Kantor/Spencer (LSU), 8-4
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2, 1, 3 Singles: 6, 1, 4, 3, 5, 2*
