Wildcats Exit SEC Tournament with Tough 4-3 Loss to Texas A&M
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In a match that took every single court, the Kentucky women’s tennis team dropped a heartbreaker in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday afternoon, falling to ninth-seeded Texas A&M, 4-3.
Similar to the regular-season matchup between the two, the Wildcats earned the doubles point with a pair of wins on the top two courts. Kentucky’s one team of Emily Fanning and Lesedi Jacobs clinched the early lead with another victory over No. 59 Eva Paalma/Domenica Gonzalez, 7-5.
Texas A&M evened the score at one as Diana Tkachenko fell in straight sets at No. 4 singles, but senior Mami Adachi answered back with a 6-4, 6-4 victory on court three to but the Wildcats up 2-1.
With back-to-back wins on courts two and one, the Aggies took a 3-2 lead in the match before Jacobs earned a three-set victory over Makarova at No. 5 singles.
With the match on the line, freshman Brianna Tulloch powered through an intense second-set tiebreak, winning 7-6 (11) to extend the match just one more set. Tulloch held onto the upper hand for most of the set, but after leading 5-4, Iulia Ivascu hammered out three straight games to give Texas A&M the victory.
The Aggies will advance to face top-seeded Vanderbilt the Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
The Wildcats will now await their NCAA Championship selection, expecting to make their fifth-straight appearance in the tournament. The 64-team field will be announced Tuesday, May 1 at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.
Agate
#24 Kentucky 3, #36 Texas A&M 4
SEC Tournament Second Round
Barksdale Stadium – Knoxville, Tenn.
April 19, 2018
Doubles (Order of Finish: 3-2-1)
1 – Emily Fanning/Lesedi Jacobs (UK) def. #59 Eva Paalma/Domenica Gonzalez (A&M) 7-5
2 – Mami Adachi/Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. Tatiana Makarova/Macarena Olivares (A&M) 6-4
3 – Riley McQuaid/Iulia Ivascu (A&M) def. Diana Tkachenko/Brianna Tulloch (UK) 6-1
Singles (Order of Finish: 4-3-2-1-5-6)
1 – Domenica Gonzalez (A&M) def. Emily Fanning (UK) 6-4, 6-4
2 – #76 Macarena Olivares (A&M) def. #118 Justina Mikulskyte (UK) 6-3, 6-4
3 – Mami Adachi (UK) def. Eva Paalma (A&M) 6-4, 6-4
4 – Riley McQuaid (A&M) def. Diana Tkachenko (UK) 6-3, 6-3
5 – Lesedi Jacobs (UK) def. Tatiana Makarova (A&M) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
6 – Iulia Ivascu (A&M) def. Brianna Tulloch (UK) 7-5, 6-7 (11-13), 7-5
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.
