Every Tuesday, UK Athletics recognizes outstanding performances for our student-athletes. These are the honorees for the week ending Sunday, April 3:
Kentucky Gymnastics team
Behind a season-high score on balance beam of 48.9, the University of Kentucky gymnastics team posted its highest team score at a NCAA Regional in school history with a 195.175 in a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional on Saturday. Kentucky’s team score at the meet surpassed its previous NCAA Regional high mark of 195.150, which helped UK earn a fourth-place finish in the 2001 NCAA Regional. The Wildcats had not scored a 195 team score of above since the 2001 season. The Wildcats were impressive on all four events at the meet but earned its highest event score on balance beam, posting a season-high score of 48.9. Junior Storey Morris led all UK gymnasts on the event with a 9.85, surpassing her career high of 9.825, while freshman Audrey Harrison scored a 9.8 for her highest career mark.
Softball: Meagan Aull
Senior Meagan Aull simply had the best weekend of her career in helping guide UK to it’s first-ever sweep of No. 5 Florida. Aull was 5-for-10 at the dish with all five hits coming in the extra-base magnitude. Aull entered the series with just six career homers and blasted four in three games against the Gators in leading UK to just the second series win in school history over Florida.
Aull connected with a three-run long ball to help propel UK to a run-rule in the opening game of the series. She then led off the second game of the series by taking the first offering of the bottom of the first over the center-field fence. It marked the first time in her career she had back-to-back games with a homer. Aull then proved to be a difference maker late in the game with an RBI double that led to a four-run inning for UK to recapture the lead en route to a 7-6 win to take the series.
Finally, in the last game of the series, Aull blasted a leadoff homer for the second consecutive game to begin an eight-run charge for the Blue and White. After UK having batted all the way around the order, Aull came back to the plate in the bottom of the first with a runner on second and charted her second long ball of the game. It is the first time in her career she has totaled two homers in a single game and just the 15th time in school history the feat has been achieved. It is the first time in school history that a player hit two homers in the same inning.
With five hits this weekend, Aull moved into ninth place all-time with 184 career hits.
Aull has a hit in 23 of UK’s last 25 games with hitting streaks of eight, 10 and a current five-game run. In 12 of those games Aull has multiple hits.
She currently leads the SEC with 20 hits in league action and ranks seventh with a .408 batting average.
Softball: Chanda Bell
Junior pitcher Chanda Bell helped catapult the Blue and White to a series sweep of No. 5 Florida. Bell was terrific in the opening game of the series working a complete-game effort and striking out 11 batters. It marked the 30th time in her career she has totaled 10 or more strikeouts in a game — and the first against Florida.
With the win over the Gators it marked the first career victory over Florida and the second victory over a top-10 ranked opponent in the SEC this season.
In the final game of the series, Bell entered the game in relief and worked two innings allowing just one hit and striking out three to preserve the sweep. For the series, Bell worked 8.0 innings, allowed just six hits and struck out 14 to a Gator attack that entered the series batting .357 as a unit.
Bell has held SEC opponents to a staggering league-best .119 batting average and given up a league-low 15 hits. Angel Brunner of Auburn is the next closest with a .171 batting average. She ranks second behind Alabama’s Kelsi Dunne with 63 strikeouts tossed, despite pitching 10 less innings than the league leader.
Softball: Emily Jolly
Freshman Emily Jolly put together the best SEC series of her young career in helping propel UK to a sweep of the Gators. The freshman second baseman totaled a .444 batting average on four hits and three runs scored. She totaled a pair of her team-best six doubles, including a two-run two-bagger in an eight-run opening inning in the final game of the series. Jolly was also masterful in the field recording a pair of putouts and three assists.
Men’s tennis: Tom Jomby
With the match tied 3-3 and the final singles match in a decisive third-set tiebreaker, University of Kentucky freshman Tom Jomby earned arguably his biggest collegiate win of his young career by defeating Andrew Butz to give No. 14 Kentucky a 4-3 win over No. 15 Florida. With the win, Kentucky its first victory over the Gators since the 2002 season and its first win in Gainesville, Fla., since 1992 when Wildcats took down Florida in the NCAA Tournament. The Kentucky freshman fell in the first set 6-4 and trailed in the second set before turning the match around by fighting back to earn a second-set victory. In the third set, Jomby earned a quick break to go up 3-1 before Butz would respond to take a 5-4 lead. Jomby, who was named SEC Freshman of the Week two weeks ago, earned a key win behind 6-5 to send the set into a tiebreaker. After falling behind 2-0 in the breaker, Jomby turned up the pressure again en route to a 7-4 tiebreaker win, clinching the UK victory.
