No. 17 Kentucky Drops Heartbreaker to No. 10 Michigan in NCAA Second Round

Tournament
Bracket

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – In a rematch of last season’s NCAA Championship Second Round bout between the two programs, the No. 17 Kentucky women’s tennis team once again saw its season come to an end, falling to No. 10 Michigan, 4-2. The Wildcats finish the 2017 campaign with a 17-9 overall record, while the Wolverines advance to the Round of 16 with a 23-5 mark.

“We lost a close match against a tough Michigan team,” head coach Carlos Drada commented. “It was great to see our seniors finish on a high note in their last college match. I want to thank everyone involved for their contributions to this special season.”

It was a high-intensity match from the start as all three doubles matches would go down to the wire. Kentucky’s two team of senior Morgan Chumney and Akvile Parazinskaite was the first to pick up a victory, rallying back from an early 5-2 deficit to win five straight games and take the match. On court three, sophomore Justina Mikulskyte and junior Emily Fanning posted a matching 7-5 victory to earn the point. UK’s sixth-ranked duo of senior Aldila Sutjiadi and Mami Adachi led 6-5 on court one against Michigan 9th-ranked tandem.

As singles commenced, it was an uphill battle as the Wildcats dropped four of six first sets in the match. The Wolverines quickly capitalized in three of those contests to win three consecutive matches in straight sets and pull away.

Chumney made a huge push at No. 6 singles to overtake Michigan’s Valeria Patiuk, 7-6 (5), 6-3 and bring the Wildcats back within one, but the remaining two matches were neck and neck. Ultimately, the host team clinched the match on court three as Adachi fell in a second-set tiebreak.

In No. 1 singles, 22nd-ranked Sutjiadi and No. 26 Kate Fahey were knotted at 2-2 in the third set as play ceased.

Adachi and Sutjiadi will be back in action in a few weeks as they head to Athens, Georgia, to compete in the NCAA singles and doubles competition. The pair enters the tournament as the overall No. 3 seed in the 32-team doubles field, while Sutjiadi will also play in the singles championship as an at-large selection. Hosted by the University of Georgia, the event will run May 24-29 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

1 – #26 Kate Fahey (UM) vs. #22 Aldila Sutjiadi (UK), 4-6, 6-1, 2-2, unf.

2 – #24 Brienne Minor (U-M) def. #103 Akvile Parazinskaite (UK), 7-5, 6-4

3 – Alex Najarian (UM) def. Mami Adachi (UK), 6-4, 7-6 (3)

4 – Chiara Lommer (UM) def. Emily Fanning (UK), 6-0, 6-4

5 – Mira Ruder-Hook (UM) def. Justina Mikulskyte (UK), 6-2, 6-1

6 – Morgan Chumney (UK) def. Valeria Patiuk (UM), 7-6 (5), 6-3

1 – #9 Alex Najarian/Kate Fahey (U-M) vs. #6 Aldila Sutjiadi/Mami Adachi (UK), 5-6, unf.

2 – Morgan Chumney/Akvile Parazinskaite (UK) def. Brienne Minor/Chiara Lommer (UM), 7-5

3 – Justina Mikulskyte/Emily Fanning (UK) def. Mira Ruder-Hook/Valeria Patiuk (UM), 7-5

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