Wildcats Knock Off No. 10 Vanderbilt, 4-2
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 14th-ranked Kentucky women’s
tennis team took down No. 10 Vanderbilt in dramatic fashion on Saturday at the
Boone Center, outlasting the Commodores by a score of 4-2 to hand Vandy their
first loss in league play. The victory marked Kentucky’s fourth-straight
against a ranked Southeastern Conference foe to advance to 12-2 overall and 4-1
in conference action.
“I am so proud of the way our whole team
competed today,” said head coach Carlos Drada. “Our players showed great
courage and belief against one of the best teams in the nation. We look forward
to the rest of the season.”
UK drew first blood in the match and took the
doubles point. Morgan Chumney and Akvile Paražinskaite dropped the first game of
their set but won the next three, which fueled them to a 6-2 victory at No. 2
doubles. Mami Adachi and Aldila Sutjiadi did the exact same but won 6-3 to
clinch the point for the Wildcats.
With the match tied at one, Adachi quickly
worked through her outing with Vanderbilt’s Georgina Sellyn. The junior won
both sets 6-4. In the first set, the two traded games all the way to 4-4, and
Adachi didn’t yield a single point in the fourth game. After she took a 5-4
lead, Adachi closed out the set in the tenth game. From there, she started off
strong in the second set as she took the opening three games.
Sutjiadi almost took fifth-ranked Astra Sharma
to a third set, but came up just short. The senior struggled in the first set,
but came roaring back in the second with four wins in the first four games.
Sutjiadi held Sharma scoreless in the second and third games and didn’t give up
a point until halfway through the fourth game of the set. Sharma battled back
to 6-6 and won the tiebreak 8-6 to tie the match at two points.
In one of her greatest showings as a Wildcat, Paražinskaite came from one set down to defeat No. 65 Christina Rosca
and give the Cats a 3-2 lead. After not winning a single game in the first set,
Paražinskaite stayed composed, controlled her mind, and delivered a 6-2 win in
the second, where she won the last four games. The sophomore trailed 3-1 early
in the third set, but showed her resilience yet again after she stormed back to
win 6-4.
Justina Mikulskyte clinched the match for Kentucky with a
6-4, 6-3 win in No. 5 singles. In the first set, the Lithuanian traded games
with Emily Smith to 3-3 before she won 6-4. It was all Mikulskyte in the second
set. She won the first five games of the set and closed out with a power shot
up the middle to end the Commodores’ hope for a comeback win.
UK will be back in action Friday, March 24, with a road trip
to Alabama. Match time is set for 6 p.m. ET.
Agate
#14 Kentucky 4, #10 Vanderbilt 2
Boone Tennis Complex – Lexington, Ky.
March 18, 2017
Singles competition (Order of Finish: 4-3-1-2-5)
1. No. 5 Astra Sharma (VU) def. No. 16 Aldila
Sutjiadi (UK), 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)
2. Akvile Paražinskaite (UK) def. No. 65 Christina
Rosca (VU), 0-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Mami Adachi (UK) def. Georgia Sellyn (VU)
6-4, 6-4
4. Emma Kurtz (VU) def. Emily Fanning (UK) 6-2,
6-1
5. Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. Fernanda
Contreras (VU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Morgan Chumney (UK) vs. Emily Smith (VU)
4-6, 6-3, 0-0, unfinished
Doubles competition (Order of Finish: 2-1)
1. #5 Mami Adachi/Aldila Sutjiadi (UK) def. #20
Astra Sharma/Emily Smith (VU) 6-3.
2. Morgan Chumney/Akvile Paražinskaite (UK) def. Emma Kurtz/Sydney Campbell (VU) 6-2.
3. Emily Fanning/Justina Mikulskyte (UK) vs.
Fernanda Contreras/Christina Rosca (VU) 3-4, unf.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s tennis program,
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and on the web at UKathletics.com.
