May 9, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. – Kentucky’s run in the NCAA Tournament was cut short as the No. 1 Northwestern Wildcats (27-1, 10-0 Big Ten) defeated the No. 26 Cats (13-10 overall, 3-8 Southeastern Conference) 4-1 in the NCAA Second Round Saturday afternoon.
“Regardless of our score today I am proud of my players,” Head coach Carlos Drada said. “We played with a lot of heart and class and left it all in the court.
I feel that today’s match was great for our team’s growth. We played a mentally tough Northwestern team; their players were disciplined in their execution and had a great attitude through the duration of the match. We will use this loss as a foundation for our team’s future success. I know our players understand what it takes to play at this level and realize that the steps up are small but make huge differences in any team performance.”
The scores remained close throughout the day with the Blue and White winning three first sets in singles. UK managed one match point against the top-ranked NU Wildcats. Sophomore Lauren Meier nabbed a win on court four against No. 116 Lauren Lui in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Meier’s win kept Kentucky in the game as Northwestern had won the doubles point and two singles courts. NU took courts one and two as the nation’s top player, Maria Mosolova, defeated Kentucky’s Megan Broderick 6-3, 6-1, and No. 20 Georgia Rose beat the Blue and White’s senior Carolina Escamilla, 6-2, 6-1.
Freshman Caroline Lilley had won her first set 7-5 over NU’s Nazlie Ghazal and had the second set knotted at two before they were forced to abandon the match on court five. Junior Christine Johnston went into a third set on court three after she had won the first set 6-4 over No. 47 Samantha Murray and fell in the second set, 6-2. Only one game was played in the third set before the match was called.
The clinching match for NU came on court six. Kentucky’s junior Whitney Spencer suffered a tough defeat after going down a break in the first set, 6-4, to Keri Robison. Robison went on to win 6-1, sending Northwestern into the NCAA Round of 16 next week.
UK has participated in the NCAA Tournament a total of 19 times since 1986 with this year being the team’s 13th consecutive trip.
For complete coverage of Kentucky women’s tennis, please visit www.ukathletics.com.
No. 1 Northwestern 4, No. 26 Kentucky 1
Doubles
1. #24 Lui/Rose (NU) def. #31 Escamilla/Lilley (UK), 8-4
2. #29 Mosolova/Robison (NU) def. Broderick/Johnston (UK), 8-1
3. Meier/Spencer (UK) vs. Chernyakova/Murray (NU), 4-4
Singles
1. #1 Maria Mosolova (NU) def. Megan Broderick (UK), 6-3, 6-1
2. #20 Georgia Rose (NU) def. Carolina Escamilla (UK), 6-2, 6-1
3. Christine Johnston (UK) vs. #47 Samantha Murry (NU), 6-4, 2-6, 0-1 abandoned
4. Lauren Meier (UK) def. #116 Lauren Lui (NU), 6-3, 6-3
5. Caroline Lilley (UK) vs. Nazlie Ghazal (NU), 7-5, 2-2 abandoned
6. Keri Robison (NU) def. Whitney Spencer (UK), 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2,1 Singles: 2, 1, 4, 6*
