Kentucky Takes on Razorbacks Friday Afternoon
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After moving up to No. 21 in the latest Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, Kentucky women’s tennis is ready to hit the road once more to continue the grueling schedule that is the Southeastern Conference slate. The Wildcats will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the No. 27 Razorbacks of Arkansas on Friday, with first serve slated for 1 p.m. ET.
Overall, Kentucky is 14-7 on the year (3-7 SEC). Headlining the Wildcat lineup is the duo of Mami Adachi and Aldila Sutjiadi, who are ranked as the No. 2 doubles team in the country. Sutjiadi is also ranked in singles, sitting at No. 53 behind an 11-5 record this season, including 4-4 in SEC play. Freshman Justina Mikulskyte also made her way into the ITA rankings at No.56 after her impressive play at the No. 1 spot and picking up a 12-7 record and 3-6 mark in the SEC.
?Kentucky’s doubles lineup has been instrumental in getting the matches going, as the Wildcats have only dropped three doubles points. Overall, all three primary doubles pairings have lost a combined five out of 36 sets. Adachi and Sutjiadi have posted an 11-2 record (6-0 SEC), while Morgan Chumney and Paražinskaite have a 9-2 (3-1 SEC) record and Nadia Ravita and Mikulskyte hold an 11-1 (4-1) mark. All three teams are nationally ranked as of the latest release, with Chumney and Paražinskaite sitting at No. 51 while Ravita and Mikulskyte are ranked 82nd.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 17-9, with Kentucky claiming clean sweeps in both of the last two meetings. The two teams last squared off on March 20, 2015, with UK claiming a 4-0 win in Lexington.
Arkansas enters the weekend after splitting its last outing against No. 4 Georgia and No. 75 Tennessee. The Razorbacks were blanked by the Bulldogs, 4-0, before a tight 4-3 victory over the Vols. Overall, the Razorbacks are 16-8 on the season, including 5-4 in SEC play. Arkansas has two players who are ranked in the latest release by the ITA, led by Yuliya Lysa at No. 34. The senior has split time at the No. 1 and 2 spot, playing primarily in the top spot during SEC play to hold a 6-2 (4-2 SEC) record. Splitting between the top two spots with Lysa is No. 86 Oparenovic, who holds a 7-6 (2-4 SEC) record in No. 2 singles. Lysa also comprises one half of the Razorbacks’ top doubles duo, pairing with Shannon Hudson for the No. 77 pairing in the nation.
Live stats for Sunday’s match will be available here.
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.
