March 15, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s tennis team fell 4-3 to No. 54 Ole Miss on Friday afternoon at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
The Wildcats fell behind early after dropping all three doubles matches. The Rebels took court three first, winning the match 8-2. Marija Milutinovic and Caroline Rohde-Moe clinched the doubles point for Ole Miss, taking the No. 1 singles point with an 8-1 win.
On court two, junior Cece Witten and sophomore Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff were leading 7-6 when the doubles point was clinched. The match was played out and Iris Verboven and Erin Stephens won the following game to force a seven-point tiebreaker. Verboven and Stephens won the tiebreaker 7-1, resulting in a sweep of the doubles matches for Ole Miss.
Down 1-0, Stephanie Fox gave Kentucky a boost from court six. The sophomore flew through the match, defeating Vivian Vlaar 6-3, 6-2 to tie the match back at 1-1.
Shortly after, Mai El Kamash of Ole Miss put the lead back in the Rebels’ hands, defeating Morin-Kougoucheff in two sets (6-1, 6-4) on court three.
From the No. 1 slot, freshman Nadia Ravita tied the match back at 2-2, defeating No. 37 Caroline Rohde-Moe. The Jakarta, Indonesia, native took a hard-earned first set 7-5, before flying through the second set and winning the match 7-5, 6-1.
The Rebels took the lead back from court four, with Erin Stephens defeating McGraw in straight sets. Stephens took the first set 6-4 and then fought off a tenacious effort from McGraw in the second set, winning the tiebreaker 7-5 to take the second set 7-6.
On the brink of defeat, freshman Kirsten Lewis battled back in the third set on court five to tie the match at 3-3. After the two split the first two sets, Lewis took the third set 6-4.
With court two left to decide the match, Julia Jones clinched the match for Ole Miss, winning on court two 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1.
The Wildcats will return to action on Sunday at noon, hosting Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs have opened the spring 6-7, while going 0-5 in SEC matches. The team is coming off a 6-1 loss at Vanderbilt on Friday night.
Live scoring of Sunday’s match will be available on UKwomenstennis.com.
Admission to Sunday’s match is free.
Follow Kentucky Women’s tennis on Twitter @UKWomensTennis and Like the Kentucky Women’s Tennis page on Facebook.
No. 38 Kentucky — 3
No. 54 Ole Miss – 4
Doubles
1 -.Marija Milutinovic/Caroline Rohde-Moe (UM) def. Caitlin McGraw/Nadia Ravita (UK) 8-1
2 – Iris Verboven/Erin Stephens (UM) def. Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff/CeCe Witten (UK) 8-7 (1).
3 – Vief Vlaar/Mai El Kamash (UM) def. Khristina Blajkevitch/Jessica Stiles (UK) 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1*, 2
Singles
1 – Nadia Ravita (UK) def. Caroline Rohde-Moe 7-5, 6-1
2 – Julia Jones (UM) def. Jessica Stiles (UK) 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1
3 – Mai El Kamash (UM) def. Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff (UK) 6-1, 6-4
4 – Erin Stephens (UM) def. Caitlin McGraw (UK) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
5 – Kirsten Lewis (UK) def. Marija Milutinovic (UM) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
6 – Stephanie Fox (UK) def. Vivian Vlaar (UM) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 1, 4, 5, 2*
