Jan. 17, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s tennis team will host the University of Cincinnati and Ball State in a doubleheader to begin the 2014 season on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the Boone Tennis Complex. The first match against Cincinnati will begin at 10 a.m. ET followed by Ball State at 6 p.m. ET.
“Our players have worked diligently since the fall and have made vast improvements on the court,” UK Head Coach Carlos Drada said. “The fact that they know they are prepared has definitely increased their confidence level.”
This year’s squad will return No. 108 Nadia Ravita, who received a singles at-large bid to the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships last season and Caitlin McGraw, who won nine doubles matches paired with Ravita. Also returning are senior Cece Witten, juniors Stephanie Fox, Grace Trimble, Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff and sophomore Kirsten Lewis.
Drada says the returning players are eager to improve upon last year’s performance and that the newcomers will help in terms of depth and different playing combinations.
Newcomers include freshmen Aldila Sutjiadi and Taylor Lederman, as well as juniors Kelsey Dieters, a transfer from Ohio State and Kate Lanier, a transfer from Southern Miss.
Lanier played in all 21 matches in her sophomore year for the Golden Eagles and won four matches in the No. 2 doubles position. Dieters won nine singles matches on court one during her sophomore year at OSU and remained ranked throughout the season.
Sutjiadi, a native of Jakarta, Indonesia, competed in the semifinals at the Australian Open in 2011 and had a career high combined ranking of 42 in 2012. Lederman, a four-star recruit from Sarasota, Fla., made it to the finals of the Super Series Girls’ 18 Singles before falling to No. 3 Mayuka Aikawa.
“Our players have done a great job adjusting to our process and they are beyond capable of representing our team in any situation.”
Drada returns for his ninth season with the Wildcats boasting a 13-12 record for the 2013 season.
Kentucky is 8-0 all-time against Cincinnati, with two wins during the Drada era. This will be the first time in school history that Kentucky will meet Ball State.
Kentucky will travel to Durham, N.C., to compete in the 2014 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kick-Off Weekend and to University Park, Pa., before returning to Lexington on Feb. 2.
