Wildcats Grind Through Singles, Down Tennessee, 4-1
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 20 Kentucky women’s tennis team went undefeated in singles on its top four courts to take down No. 37 Tennessee 4-1 inside the Boone Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon.
With the victory, the Wildcats move to 12-6, 4-4 in Southeastern Conference play, while UT falls to 13-7, 0-7 SEC.
“I am grateful for our players’ mental toughness after losing a tough doubles point,” said Kentucky head coach Carlos Drada. “I am excited for the rest of the season because our athletes still have a ton of room for improvement throughout this season. We will have a great week of practice and hope to improve our performance next weekend.”
Doubles action was an all-out battle, with all three matches played close, but the Volunteers would come up with a pair of wins on courts one and two to claim the early lead. Court two was the first to finish, with Lesedi Jacobs and Justina Mikulskyte falling 6-4. The point was clinched as No. 41 Mami Adachi and Emily Fanning fell 7-5 in No. 1 doubles. Court three was knotted at 5-5 as play was stopped.
Despite dropping the first point, Kentucky did not let the Volunteers hang on to the momentum. The Wildcats quickly took a 2-1 lead as No. 100 Mikulskyte sailed through a 6-1, 6-1 defeat of Elizabeth Profit on court two and Adachi picked up a 6-1, 6-4 triumph on court three.
With a gritty three-set victory, Diana Tkachenko brought the Wildcats within one point of the team victory in No. 4 singles.
In a highly competitive match, Tennessee’s Sadie Hammond took Fanning down to the wire on the top court, but Fanning rallied through a third set to clinch the match and get Kentucky back in the win column.
The Wildcats will be back in action Saturday, April 1, as they travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. First serve is set for noon ET.
Agate
#20 Kentucky 4, #37 Tennessee 1
Boone Tennis Complex – Lexington, Ky.
March 25, 2018
Singles (Order of Finish: 2-3-4-1)
1 – Emily Fanning (UK) def. Sadie Hammond (UT) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
2 – #100 Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. Elizabeth Profit (UT) 6-1, 6-1
3 – Mami Adachi (UK) def. Ariadna Riley (UT) 6-1, 6-4
4 – Diana Tkachenko (UK) def. Gabby Schuck (UT) 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
5 – Lesedi Jacobs (UK) vs. Kaitlin Staines (UT) 4-6, 2-1, unfinished
6 – Brianna Tulloch (UK) vs. Johanna Silva (UT) 3-6, 1-0, unfinished
Doubles (Order of Finish: 2-1)
1 – Ariadna Riley/Kaitlin Staines (UT) def. #41 Mami Adachi/Emily Fanning (UK) 7-5
2 – Gabby Schuck/Sadie Hammond (UT) def. Lesedi Jacobs/Justina Mikulskyte (UK) 6-4
3 – Diana Tkachenko/Brianna Tulloch (UK) vs. Elizabeth Profit/Chelsea Sawyer (UT) 5-5, unfinished
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s tennis program, follow @UKWomensTennis on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook at Facebook.com/UKWomensTennis and on the web at UKathletics.com.
