Sept. 29, 2014
Evanston, Ill. – The fall season continued for the Kentucky women’s tennis team at the Wildcat Invitational, Sept. 26-28, where six Wildcats competed in the 10-team event in Evanston, Ill.
Seniors Stephanie Fox, Kate Lanier, Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff and Grace Trimble, and junior Kirsten Lewis competed in one of two 32-player singles draws, while doubles pairs of Lewis and Morin-Kougoucheff and Lanier and sophomore Taylor Lederman also competed in one of two 16-team doubles brackets.
“The nice thing about fall tournaments is that the volume of matches in a small period provides a lot of feedback,” UK assistant coach Kevin Calhoun said. “There were many positives that were revealed to us and we also learned some things we need to improve as we move forward. This is a resilient, work-oriented group. They will take what they learned and become better.”
Both of UK’s doubles teams notched a pair of wins at the event. Morin-Kougoucheff and Trimble knocked off Pitt in the opening round, 8-5, before falling in a tightly-contested quarterfinal matchup with DePaul, 8-7 (5). In the consolation round, the Wildcats fell to Northwestern, 8-3 before rebounding with an 8-1 win over Eastern Michigan.
Lanier and Lederman also opened with a win, 8-3 over Eastern Michigan. After an 8-7 loss to Oklahoma, the pair responded with an 8-3 victory over UIC.
In singles action, Morin-Kougoucheff opened with a win over Michigan State (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) before a losses to FIU and Pittsburgh. Fox also opened with a victory over Eastern Michigan (3-6, 6-4, 6-3) before a loss to FIU (6-1, 6-1).
Lewis lost her first match to Oklahoma (6-0, 6-4) but answered with a win over DePaul (6-4, 6-0) before a loss to Western Michigan (6-3, 2-6, 11-9). Lanier lost her singles first round match to Eastern Michigan, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 before a win over Michigan State, 6-1, 6-3 and a loss to Oklahoma (6-3, 6-2). Trimble suffered an opening-round loss to Oklahoma and lost in the consolation round to UIC.
The 2014-15 Wildcats open the spring season January 13 in Hawaii, while UK hosts its first home contests of the year on Jan. 18 vs. the College of Charleston and Belmont.
Head Coach Carlos Drada and the Wildcats are coming off an impressive 2013-14 campaign that saw Kentucky make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009. UK advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s second round and three Wildcats competed at the NCAA Individual Championships, including Ravita. Drada was named the Wilson/ITA Ohio Valley Region Coach of the Year, while Calhoun earned Ohio Valley Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors.
Visit UKathletics.com for the most up-to-date information on the Kentucky women’s tennis team and all 22 varsity sports. For additional info, notes and behind-the-scenes updates, follow the team on Twitter at @UKWomensTennis.
