No. 25 UK Downs Mississippi State, Remains Perfect at Home
March 1, 2015
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 25 Kentucky women’s tennis team outlasted No. 63 Mississippi State to remain perfect at home and undefeated in Southeastern Conference play with a 5-2 win on Sunday afternoon.
In a marathon match that lasted nearly five hours, the Wildcats improved to 11-4 on the season and 2-0 in the SEC. UK extended its unbeaten streak to nine matches in the friendly confines of the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center in 2015 with a hard-fought win over the 63rd-ranked Bulldogs.
“It was a great match, I think the best match we’ve played all year,” UK head coach Carlos Drada said. “Everyone competed hard, our players knew this was going to be an extremely tough match and we were able to come back from some deficits. It helped us that we played great in doubles, very focused in execution and things that we’ve been working on lately. Mississippi State is a team on their way up right now, I think they’re going to surprise a lot of teams in the SEC. I’m glad we were able to hold them back here today.
“I’m grateful that we came out of the weekend with two wins under our belts against two really good teams. We’re putting ourselves in the right position to continue to do well and have a great time in this league.”
After UK opened the weekend with a 4-3 upset win over No. 15 Ole Miss on Friday, the Wildcats picked up right where they left off on Sunday.
Kentucky won the doubles point to open the match and take a 1-0 lead. It didn’t take long for Mami Adachi to extend the lead to 2-0 with a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win at No. 3 singles, and Nadia Ravita gave the Wildcats a 3-0 advantage at No. 1 singles with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory.
UK had to wait for its fourth – and match-clinching – point. That came on court No. 4 thanks to Kelsey Dieters. It took a third set, but Dieters prevailed, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to give the Wildcats the win and a 4-0 advantage.
As play continued after UK secured the win, Aldila Sutjiadi fell in the third set at No. 2 singles, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2 in the longest match of the day. Kirsten Lewis added a 6-3, 2-6 (10-2) win on court five, while Taylor Lederman lost on court No. 6, 7-5, 6-2.
The doubles point was won by the Wildcats thanks to an 8-4 win by Sutjiadi and Adachi at No. 1 doubles and an 8-1 win by Lewis and Ravita on court No. 2.
Kentucky’s homestand concludes on March 6 vs. Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. ET. UK then hits the road for the first time in SEC competition, traveling to Georgia on March 13 and Tennessee on March 15.
No. 25 Kentucky 4, No. 63 Mississippi State 0
Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex – Lexington, Ky.
March 1, 2015
Doubles (Order of finish: 1, 2*)
1 – No. 28 Aldila Sutjiadi/Mami Adachi(UK) def. Georgiana Patrasc/Jasmine Lee (MSU), 8-4
2 – Kirsten Lewis/Nadia Ravita (UK def. Naomi Tran/Martina Frantova (MSU), 8-1
3 – Kelsey Dieters/Taylor Lederman (UK) vs. Timea Guibe/Louise Ronaldson (MSU), DNF (5-2)
Singles (Order of finish: 3, 1, 4*, 2, 5, 6)
1 – No. 60 Nadia Ravita (UK) def. No. 75 Georgiana Patrasc (MSU), 7-6 (4), 6-4
2 – Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. Aldila Sutjiadi (UK), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2
3 – Mami Adachi (UK) def. Martina Frantova (MSU), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
4 – Kelsey Dieters (UK) def. Louise Ronaldson (MSU), 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
5 -Kirsten Lewis (UK) def. Jennifer Brown (MSU), 6-3, 2-6 (10-2)
6 -Timea Guibe (MSU) def. Taylor Lederman (UK), 7-5, 6-2
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.
