Kentucky Goes Undefeated in Doubles Matches at Fall Finale
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Kentucky women’s tennis team competed in its final fall tournament of the season at the June Stewart Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee, October 30-31, going unbeaten through six doubles matches and collecting four singles wins throughout the weekend.
The fall finale was the last of three tournaments Kentucky was permitted to compete in before the regular season, which is scheduled to begin in January 2021. The format consisted of a round-robin, hidden-dual format, which featured four Southeastern Conference teams in Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee and hosts Vanderbilt.
Kentucky hasn’t met either the Commodores or the Volunteers in a dual-meet setting since the spring of 2019. However, the Wildcats and the Tigers last met in March 2020, when the teams competed against each other in their final match of the conference schedule before the season was cut short because of the COVID-19 health threat.
The Wildcats saved their best performance for last this fall, going unbeaten in six doubles matches, earning a trio of wins against Auburn on Friday afternoon and a trio of wins against Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon.
Kentucky’s doubles success against the Tigers allowed the team to keep its pairings the same for the Commodores, too, which featured Akvile Paražinskaite and Fiona Arrese on the first court, Carla Girbau and Elizabeth Stevens on the second court and Anastasia Tkachenko and Salsa Aher on the third court.
Each tandem included one freshman – Arrese, Stevens and Aher.
It marked the first time Girbau and Stevens and Tkachenko and Aher have been paired together, while Paražinskaite and Arrese have recorded one other triumph together just last weekend at the Bulldog Invitational.
Aher, Paražinskaite and Stevens each recorded a singles triumph this weekend, too, as did Carlota Molina.
This weekend’s results are as follows:
Friday, October 30
Doubles
Akvile Paražinskaite/Fiona Arrese (UK) def. Georgie Axon/Adeline Flach (Aub) 6-0
Carla Girbau/Elizabeth Stevens (UK) def. Taylor Russo/Carolyn Ansari (Aub) 6-4
Anastasia Tkachenko/Salsa Aher (UK) Selin Ovunc/Yu Chen (Aub) 6-4
Singles
Carly Briggs (UT) def. Akvile Paražinskaite (UK) 6-2, 6-4
Rebeka Mertena (UT) def. Carla Girbau (UK) 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2
Johanna Silva (UT) def. Elizabeth Stevens (UK) 6-0, 6-4
Carlota Molina (UK) def. Daria Kuczer (UT) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
Esther Adeshina (UT) def. Fiona Arrese (UK) 6-1, 6-3
Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Anastasia Tkachenko (UK) 6-1, 6-1
Salsa Aher (UK) def. Callie Creath (UT) 6-1, 6-4
Saturday, October 31
Doubles
Akvile Paražinskaite/Fiona Arrese (UK) def. Emma Kurtz/Christina Rosca (Vandy) 6-2
Elizabeth Stevens/Carla Girbau (UK) def. Amanda Meyer/Marcella Cruz (Vandy) 6-3
Anastasia Tkachenko/Salsa Aher (UK) def. Dasha Kourkina/Anessa Lee (Vandy) 7-6 (5)
Singles
Selin Ovunc (Aub) def. Carla Girbau (UK) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Yu Chen (Aub) def. Carlota Molina (UK) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Akvile Paražinskaite (UK) def. Carolyn Ansari (Aub) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
Georgie Axon (Aub) def. Salsa Aher (UK) 6-0, 6-2
Elizabeth Stevens (UK) def. Shir Azran (Aub) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Adeline Flach (Aub) def. Fiona Arrese (UK) 7-5, 7-5
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.
