Kentucky Upends No. 11 Auburn, 4-3

AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 13 Kentucky women’s tennis team picked up its fifth victory over a ranked Southeastern Conference foe on Sunday afternoon, downing No. 11 Auburn 4-3. Kentucky rises to 13-3 overall including a 5-2 mark in league play, while the Tigers drop to 18-6, 2-5 SEC.

Kentucky built up its momentum early to earn the doubles point. Justina Mikulskyte and Emily Fanning got the Cats half of the way there by downing Auburn’s Alannah Griffin/Caroline Turner, 6-2. After being tied 2-2 early on, fourth-ranked Aldila Sutjiadi and Mami Adachi pulled away from Taylor Russo/Andie Dikosavljevic to clinch the point, winning 6-3.

The Tigers evened the score at one as sophomore Akvile Paražinskaite fell to 78th-ranked Dikosavljevic in straight sets, but Sutjiadi quickly reclaimed the Wildcats’ lead with a huge 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 34 Alizee Michaud. From there, the remaining matches would all require a third set.

The match went back and forth as both teams traded matches to ultimately leave it up to Mikulskyte in No. 5 singles. After dropping the first set in a 7-3 tiebreak, the sophomore battled back to take the second set 7-5. In the third set, Mikulskyte powered through to win the third set 6-1 and clinch the Cats’ victory.

The Wildcats will be back in action next weekend as they return home to face No. 18 Arkansas on Friday at 6 p.m. ET and No. 44 Missouri on Sunday at noon.

1 – #19 Aldila Sutjiadi (UK) def. #34 Alizee Michaud (AU) 6-4, 6-3

2 – #78 Andie Dikosavljevic (AU) def. #125 Akvile Paražinskaite (UK) 6-2, 6-2

3 – #85 Taylor Russo (AU) def. Mami Adachi (UK) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3

4 – Emily Fanning (UK) def. Georgie Axon (AU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0

5 – Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. Roos van der Zwaan (AU) 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 6-1

6 – Caroline Turner (AU) def. Morgan Chumney (UK) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3

1 – #4 Aldila Sutjiadi/Mami Adachi (UK) def. Taylor Russo/Andie Dikosavljevic (AU) 6-3

2 – Alizee Michaud/Reka Muller (AU) vs. Akvile Paražinskaite/Morgan Chumney (UK) 5-4, unfinished

3 – Emily Fanning/Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. Alannah Griffin/Caroline Turner (AU) 6-2