April 11, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 30 University of Kentucky women’s tennis team lost to No. 35 University of South Carolina, Friday evening at the Carolina Tennis Center. The Gamecocks edged the Wildcats, 4-1, and Kentucky dropped its seventh Southeastern Conference match.
Kentucky (15-9, 5-7 SEC) led the charge in the doubles competition with wins at one and two doubles. No. 62 Nadia Ravita and Aldila Sutjiadi blanked No. 76 Meghan Blevins and Katerina Popova, 8-0, to give the Wildcats an advantage in doubles play. No. 45 Caitlin McGraw and Cece Witten secured the doubles point behind their No. 1 doubles win over No. 30 Elixane Lechemia and Dominika Kanakova. The newly ranked pair defeated the Gamecocks, 8-5 and handed Kentucky the early 1-0 lead.
Kentucky’s lead vanished in singles play as South Carolina won three consecutive singles matches to take a 3-1 lead. Brigit Folland was the first Gamecock to get on the scoreboard following her 6-2, 6-1 win against Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff at No. 4 singles. Caroline Dailey and Lechemia both won their matches to give USC match point. With the three remaining courts in tiebreak sets, South Carolina clinched the match at the No.2 position. Junior, Kelsey Dieters, was defeated by Blevins, 6-0, 1-6, 2-6.
Kentucky will now head to Gainesville, Fla. to face No. 11 Florida to end regular season action. The match is slated to begin at 1 p.m. ET.
For updates on Kentucky women’s tennis, follow Kentucky Women’s Tennis on Twitter and Instagram @UKWomensTennis and like the Kentucky Women’s Tennis page on Facebook.
Agate
#35 South Carolina 4, #30 Kentucky 1
Singles
1. #98 Elixane Lechemia, USC, def. #57 Nadia Ravita, UK, 7-5, 6-3
2. #90 Katerina Popova, USC, vs. Aldila Sutjiadi, UK, 6-2, 4-6, 2-3 susp.
3. Meghan Blevins, USC, def. Kelsey Dieters, UK, 0-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. Brigit Folland, USC, def. Edmee Morin-Kougoucheff, UK, 6-2, 6-1
5. Caroline Dailey, USC, def. Caitlin McGraw, UK, 6-2, 7-5
6. Ximena Siles Luna, USC, vs. Kirsten Lewis, UK, 6-3, 2-6, 2-5 susp.
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 1, 3
Doubles
1. #45 McGraw/CeCe Witten, UK, def. #30 Lechemia/Dominika Kanakova, USC, 8-5
2. #62 Ravita/Sutjiadi, UK, def. #76 Blevins/Popova, USC, 8-0
3. Siles Luna/Dailey, USC, vs. Lewis/Morin-Kougoucheff, UK, 7-5 susp.
Order of Finish: 2, 1
