Wildcats Take LSU to the Wire, Fall 4-3
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky’s battle with No. 18 LSU came down to the last two three-set singles matches for the second consecutive Southeastern Conference match, but the women’s tennis team fell in a 4-3 decision to the Tigers on Thursday night. The Wildcats fall to 11-5 on the season and 0-4 in SEC play, while LSU advances to 14-5 (3-2 SEC).
The Wildcats started off the match as has been the trend for the past 14 matches, winning the doubles point to secure the opening point. LSU took the first doubles set on Court 2 when Ryann Foster and Abigail Owens took down Akvile Paražinskaite and Morgan Chumeny, 6-2, but the Wildcats retaliated with wins on Courts 1 and 3. First, Justina Mikulskyte and Nadia Ravita downed Skyalar Holloway and Skylar Kuykendall, 6-3, before No. 5 Mami Adachi and Aldila Sutjiadi sealed the doubles point with a 6-4 victory over Joana Vale Costa and Jessica Golovin.
The Tigers took the lead with wins in No. 5 and 6 singles, swinging the score to 2-1 in LSU’s advantage. Kirsten Lewis first took on Ella Taylor on Court 6, falling to the Tiger in 6-1, 6-0 sets. On the No. 5 court, Adachi had a 6-3, 6-1 setback to Abigail Owens. From there, UK rattled off two singles wins courtesy of Sutjiadi and Ravita. The No. 42-ranked Sutjiadi had a straight-set victory over No. 57 Golovin in No. 2 singles, 6-4, 6-2, while Ravita got back to her dominating ways with a blanking of Foster in the first set of No. 3 singles before securing the match with a 6-2 win in the second.
Similar to Kentucky’s previous match versus South Carolina, the Wildcats found themselves up 3-2 going into the final two singles matches, both of which went into a third deciding set. Mikulskyte earned a hard-fought 7-6(5) win in the opening set over No. 20 Vale Costa on Court 1 before suffering a 6-0 setback in the second set. LSU’s top singles player took the deciding set, 6-1, to knot the score at 3-3. Mikulskyte’s compatriot, Paražinskaite, fell in the opening set in No. 4 singles to Kuykendall, but stormed back for a 7-5 win in the second set. The deciding set also went to extra games, but Kuykendall came away with the 7-5 decision to clinch the match for LSU.
Kentucky will continue its homestand against No. 14 Texas A&M on Saturday. The Wildcats will square off with the Aggies at 11 a.m. ET at Boone Tennis Center.
#18 LSU 4, #26 Kentucky, 3
Singles (Order of finish: 6, 5, 2, 3, 1, 4*)
1. No. 20 Joana Vale Costa (LSU) def. Justina Milkuskyte (UK), 6-7, 0-6, 6-1
2. No. 42 Aldila Sutjiadi (UK) def. No. 57 Jessica Golovin (LSU), 6-4, 6-2
3. Nadia Ravita (UK) def. Ryann Foster, 6-0, 6-2
4. Skylar Kuykendall (LSU) def. Akvile Paražinskaite (UK) 6-4, 7-5, 7-5
5. Abigail Owens (LSU) def. Mami Adachi (UK), 6-3, 6-1
6. Ella Taylor (LSU) def. Kirsten Lewis (UK), 6-1, 6-0
Doubles (Order of finish: 2, 3, 1*)
1. No. 5 Mami Adachi/AldilaSutjiadi (UK) def. Joana Vale Costa/Jessica Golovin (LSU), 6-4
2. Ryann Foster/Abigail Owens (LSU) def. Akvile Paražinskaite/Morgan Chumney (UK), 6-2
3. Nadia Ravita/Justina Milkuskyte (UK) def. Skylar Holloway/Skylar Kuykendall (LSU), 6-3
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.
