Kentucky Drops 4-2 Decision to Mississippi State
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The University of Kentucky ended its weekend slate with a split of its Mississippi-located Southeastern Conference foes, dropping Saturday’s dual match to No. 28 Mississippi State, 4-2. The Wildcats fall to 14-6 (3-6 SEC) on the season, while the Bulldogs advance to 14-7 (3-6 SEC).
Sophomore Mami Adachi contributed to both of Kentucky’s points, first pairing with Aldila Sutjiadi in No. 1 doubles to take down Madison Harrison and Kristina Vozniak to hand the Bulldogs their first SEC loss as a pairing, 6-3. Nadia Ravita and Justina Mikulskyte clinched the opening point in No. 2 doubles with a 6-2 decision over Jasmine Lee and Louise Ronaldson.
Adachi put the Wildcats up 2-0 with her defeat of Vozniak in No. 5 singles, 6-2, 6-3, but the Bulldogs went to rattle off four straight singles wins to claim the victory.
Akvile Paražinskaite was the first to fall for the Blue and White, dropping her No. 4 singles match to No. 100 Anastasia Rentouli in matching 6-2 sets. Kirsten Lewis had a similar outcome, falling 6-1, 6-2 to Jennifer Brown in No. 6 singles. On the top court, Mikulskyte took No. 13 Lee to extra games but was unable to pull off the win in the first set, dropping it 7-5 before falling in the second, 6-3.
Down 3-2 with the final two singles matches deciding the fate of the dual, both the No. 2 and 3 singles matches went into three sets. Ravita had taken her first set against Harris, 6-4, but fell 6-3 in the second and was tied at 6-6 when her match was abandoned, as Sutjiadi fell to No. 71 Georgiana Patrasc on Court 2. Like Ravita, Sutjiadi claimed the first set, 6-1, but went on to drop matching 6-4 sets to close out her match and the dual.
Kentucky will hit the road again next weekend, traveling to No. 24 Arkansas on Friday and No. 71 Missouri on Sunday. Both matches will take place at 1 p.m. ET.
#28 Mississippi State 4, #23 Kentucky 2
Singles (Order of Finish: 5, 4, 6, 1, 2*)
1. No. 13 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. No. 76 Justina Mikulskyte (UK), 7-5, 6-3
2. No. 71 Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) def. No. 49 Aldila Sutjiadi (UK), 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Madison Harris (MSU) vs. Nadia Ravita (UK), 4-6, 6-3, 6-6(1-0), abandoned
4. No. 100 Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) Akvile Paražinskaite (UK), 6-2, 6-2
5. Mami Adachi (UK) def. Kristina Vozniak (MSU), 6-2, 6-3
6. Jennifer Brown (MSU) vs. Kirsten Lewis (UK), 6-1, 6-2
Doubles (Order of Finish: 1, 2*)
1. No. 3 Mami Adachi/Aldila Sutjiadi (UK) def. Madison Harrison/Kristina Vozniak (MSU), 6-3
2. Nadia Ravita/Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. Jasmine Lee/Louise Ronaldson (MSU), 6-2
3. Akvile Paražinskaite/Kirsten Lewis (UK) vs. No. 61 Georgiana Patrasc/Anastasia Rentouli (MSU), 4-3, abandoned
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.
