UK Women’s Tennis Hosts Second Annual Kentucky Invite
***Update 11/01/19: West Virginia has been added to the Kentucky Invite field for a total of seven teams.
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s tennis program will host five teams in the second annual Kentucky Invite at Top Seed Tennis Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky, Nov. 1-3.
Doubles action will begin each morning at 9 a.m., followed by two rounds of singles action at 10 a.m. and not before noon. The tournament is free to the public, and fans are encouraged to attend. On Saturday, Nov. 2, fans can meet and take photos with Santa at no cost, while enjoying an assortment of donuts and coffee.
The Kentucky Invite features a strong fall field including DePaul, Miami (Ohio), Penn State, Utah and Virginia Tech. The Hokies played in the inaugural event last fall alongside Toledo.
The teams will play in a round-robin, hidden-dual format. Kentucky will play on courts Nos. 1-4 the entire weekend, meeting Utah, DePaul and Virginia Tech in doubles and Penn State, Virginia Tech and Utah in singles.
Each team will compete against four of the five possible opponents throughout the weekend, while using the familiar three-team lineup in doubles and seven-person lineup in singles.
The UK women’s tennis team has boasted individual success this fall, including collecting two doubles championships and one singles championship in just two tournaments thus far.
Redshirt senior Akvile Paražinskaite and redshirt junior Lesedi Jacobs are performing at the top of their game in doubles going undefeated in nine doubles matches to begin the season, despite both recovering from minor injuries. Topping the doubles field in each of their tournaments this fall – Baylor Invite and Ohio Valley Regional Championships – the UK pair has two doubles championship titles to their name in the fall slate.
Since the Kentucky Invite will be played in a round-robin rotation, there is not an opportunity to win a championship title. Rather, each player will have the same opportunity to compete in an equal amount of singles and doubles matches – up to three each.
Freshman Carlota Molina has made an early impression on the coaching staff, winning the main singles draw in her collegiate debut at the Wildcat Invite in Evanston, Illinois. The newcomer from Gran Canaria, Spain, defeated three opponents en route to her first collegiate title.
Last season, Kentucky players gathered a combined 30 wins, of 34 possible, in the three-day stretch, reporting only four losses – three in singles and one in doubles.
Team lineups will not be set until the day of competition. Live scoring will not be provided, though results will be available at UKathletics.com at the end of each competition day.
Next on the Schedule
Paražinskaite and Jacobs will compete in doubles at the International Tennis Association National Fall Championships in Newport Beach, California, Nov. 7-12. The UK pair qualified into the prestigious tournament after winning the Ohio Valley Regional Doubles Championship.
The draw of 32 will feature 12 ITA regional champions, four ITA All-American semifinalists, two ITA All-American consolation finalists, 10 at-large selections, one ITA cup champion, one Oracle wild card and two ITA wild cards.
Paražinskaite and Jacobs are also nominees to compete as at-large and/or wild-card selections in the singles draw. Twenty-one at-large candidates will be selected to join the draw of 64.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s tennis program, follow @UKWomensTennis on Twitter and on Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.
