Wildcats Begin Play in NCAA Championships vs. Syracuse
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 26 Kentucky women’s tennis team opens action in the NCAA Championships against Syracuse on Friday at 1 p.m. ET from the Hellman Tennis Complex on the campus of Cal in Berkeley, California.
UK is making its seventh straight appearance and 26th overall in program history. Head coach Carlos Drada has led Kentucky to the NCAA field of 64 during 11 of his 16 seasons. The Wildcats are 22-26 overall on the national stage. Kentucky has advanced to the quarterfinals in 1988 and 2005, tying for the best finish in program history.
The Wildcats are 15-8 this season and were 6-7 in Southeastern Conference action this season. UK advanced to the SEC Championship quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Georgia.
Kentucky is led by its No. 1 ranked doubles tandem in Akvile Paražinskaite and Fiona Arrese who are a combined 20-2 overall on the season. Paražinskaite, Carla Girbau, Lesedi Jacobs, Carlota Molina, Elizabeth Stevens, Maialen Morante and Arrese have all appeared in at least 10 dual matches this season providing UK with a deep bench for its upcoming quest to compete for a national title.
Paražinskaite is ranked No. 28 in the country, while Jacobs owns a No. 115 rating to lead UK in singles action.
UK’s opening opponent, Syracuse, earned an at-large bid out of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Orange are 8-11 overall.
Syracuse is ranked No. 42 by the Oracle/ITA Rankings. Victoria Kanapatskaya is the Orange’s top singles player with an 11-5 record and a No. 11 national ranking. Guzal Yusupova owns a 4-8 mark. Kanapatskaya and Natalie Novotna comprise the nation’s No. 38 doubles tandem with an 8-8 clip, while Yusupova and Miranda Ramirez combine for a 6-5 record and a No. 78 ranking.
The Wildcats and Syracuse will matchup for the right to take on the winner of San Jose State (15-1) and the No. 16 overall seed in Cal (17-6). Saturday’s match is slated for a 4 p.m. ET first serve.
The Bears earned the Pac-12’s automatic bid into the NCAA Championship after capturing the Pac-12 Championship title. Cal claimed a 4-2 win over top-seeded UCLA to win its first Pac-12 title since 2014. The Spartans downed San Diego State 4-1 to win the Mountain West Championship and earned its automatic bid.
The winner of each site advances to super-regional competition May 16 in Orlando at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
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.
