No. 23 UK Women’s Tennis Begins Slate of Five Straight Home Matches
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Undefeated in nine home matches, the University of Kentucky women’s tennis team will return to the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center, after competing in four straight road matches, to host Florida on Friday in a 5 p.m. first serve.
Midway through the conference schedule, the Wildcats (14-3, Southeastern Conference 4-2) are in a three-way tie for third place in the league, joining Florida and Texas A&M. Florida is 7-6 overall, and it holds the all-time winning mark over UK by a 41-2 note. In addition, the Gators have defeated the Wildcats in nine straight matches.
UK has put together notable performances at home, boasting an unbeaten record in nine home matches. In the league, redshirt-sophomore Lesedi Jacobs has made quite the imprint in the singles division. The Namibia native is 5-0 against conference foes, while riding an eight-match win streak. After starting her conference campaign on a 3-0 mark on court three, coaches rewarded her with the No. 2 position last weekend. She didn’t fall short, becoming the only Wildcat to win both of her singles matches and by just two sets each, while also defeating her first ranked opponent.
In doubles, senior Justina Mikulskyte and redshirt-junior Akvile Paražinskaite are improving with each week. In the ITA/Oracle Top 80 released on Tuesday, the duo is ranked a season-best No. 14. The UK twosome is 5-1 in the SEC, ride a five-match win streak and are unbeaten in five matches against ranked national-ranked opponents.
Florida’s No. 1 singles player is the 16th-best singles player in the nation in Ida Jarlskog. In addition, Gatos’ McCartney Kessler is No. 38, while Victoria Emma is No. 67.
Fans who wish to attend can enjoy free parking in any of the three E-lots adjacent to the tennis courts on the University of Kentucky campus one hour prior to the start of the matches. Parking structure No. 7 is also a free option for spectators after 3 p.m.
Live scoring for Friday can be followed at sidearmstats.com/ukentucky/tennis/xlive.htm.
For more on Kentucky women’s tennis, follow @UKWomensTennis on Twitter and Instagram, Kentucky Women’s Tennis on Facebook, or on the web at UKathletics.com.
