Paražinskaite Named SEC Freshman of the Week

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-The Southeastern Conference announced Wednesday, Feb. 17, that Kentucky women’s tennis freshman Akvile Paražinskaite has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week following her performances against No. 54 Princeton and No. 50 Columbia.  The award is the first of Paražinskaite’s career and the first weekly accolade of the year awarded to a member of the No. 22 Wildcats.

Paražinskaite moved to 6-1 in singles while improving her doubles record with Morgan Chumney to 5-1 this season after posting two victories in both singles and doubles for the Blue and White.  In No. 2 doubles, Paražinskaite and Chumney first downed Princeton’s Emily Hahn/Katrine Steffensen, 7-5, before handily defeating Columbia’s Kanika Vaidya/Adi Milstein, 6-1, to open up the match against the No. 50 Lions and set the tone for the Wildcats’ 6-1 victory.

The Lithuanian native had an equally impactful performance as an individual, moving into the No. 3 spot against Princeton and delivering a 6-4, 6-7(4), 10-8 win against Nicole Kalhorn to complete the Wildcats’ 7-0 sweep over the No. 54 Tigers.  In her matchup against Columbia’s Andrea Kevakian in No. 5 singles, Paražinskaite delivered the 6-4, 6-2 blow that clinched the match for the Wildcats and advanced the score to 4-0 going into the final three singles matches.

After playing the first seven matches on the road, the Wildcats will finally return home to host No. 69 Michigan State and in-state foe Eastern Kentucky on Sunday, Feb. 21.  The Wildcats will take on the Spartans at 11 a.m.  ET before facing the Colonels at 5 p.m.

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 and on Facebook.