Kentucky Cruises Past West Virginia, Austin Peay on Sunday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky women’s tennis team is back in the win column following a doubleheader on Sunday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center. The Wildcats defeated West Virginia, 4-3, in the first match of the day before downing Austin Peay, 4-1, to improve to 11-1 on the year. The Mountaineers fall to 5-3 while the Governors drop to 0-5.
Kentucky put the double in doubleheader by quickly earning the doubles point in the first match against West Virginia. Carla Girbau and Ellie Eades easily defeated Kendall Kovick and Tanya Lipatova, 6-0, before Carlota Molina and Lidia Gonzalez sealed the deal by taking down Momoko Nagato and Penny Hsieh, 6-2.
Girbau and Fiona Arrese then picked up the first two singles points, with the latter posting a pair of 6-4 sets over Kovik on court two. Girbau topped Ting-Pei Chang, 6-2, 6-4, on the first court to give the Wildcats a three-point advantage.
Although Michaela Kucharova put West Virginia on the board with a victory on the fourth court, Florencia Urrutia earned a hard-fought clinching point for the third time this season. After initially trailing Nagato on court three, the junior had back-to-back 6-3 sets to secure the team’s win.
Just as it has in nine other matches throughout the season, Kentucky once again secured the doubles point versus Austin Peay with two 6-2 wins. Arrese and Urrutia teamed up to defeat Jana Leder and Aleks Topalovic while the tandem of Girbau and Eades bested Honoka Nakanishi and Denise Torrealba.
Once again playing on the first court, Girbau got her fifth singles win of her senior season after quickly taking care of Leder in a convincing 6-1, 6-0 decision. Gonzalez also won for the fifth time in 2022 after prevailing in her singles match with Martina Paladini-Jennings, 6-4, 6-1, on court four.
It was deja-vu in the second match for Urrutia against the Governors, who began to chip away at their deficit due to a win from Torrealba. Despite trailing Topalovic after the first set, Urrutia stormed back in the last two, 6-1, 6-1, to clinch the match for the second time of the day and the team-leading fourth time this season.
The Wildcats have a weekend off from competition before hitting the road for just the second time this year to begin Southeastern Conference action. UK will play at Alabama on Friday, March 4 at 5 p.m. ET before heading to Auburn on Sunday, March 6 at 11 a.m.
Match One
Kentucky 4, West Virginia 3
Singles
1. Carla Girbau (UK) def. Ting-Pei Chang (WVU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Fiona Arrese (UK) def. Kendall Kovick (WVU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Florencia Urrutia (UK) def. Momoko Nagato (WVU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Michaela Kucharova (WVU) def. Lidia Gonzalez (UK) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
5. Tanya Lipatova (WVU) def. Ellie Eades (UK) 6-3, 5-7, 10-2
6. Camilla Bossi (WVU) def. Maialen Morante (UK) 4-6, 6-4, 10-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 4, 3*, 5, 6
Doubles
1. Fiona Arrese/Florencia Urrutia (UK) vs. Ting-Pei Chang/Camilla Bossi (WVU) Unfinished
2. Carla Girbau/Ellie Eades (UK) def. Kendall Kovick/Tanya Lipatova (WVU) 6-0
3. Carlota Molina/Lidia Gonzalez (UK) def. Momoko Nagato/Penny Hsieh (WVU) 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3*
Match Two
Kentucky 4, Austin Peay 1
Singles
1. Carla Girbau (UK) def. Jana Leder (APSU) 6-1, 6-0
2. Denise Torrealba (APSU) def. Fiona Arrese (UK) 4-6 7-6(4), 6-3
3. Florencia Urrutia (UK) def. Aleks Topalovic (APSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. Lidia Gonzalez (UK) def. Martina Paladini-Jennings (APSU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Ellie Eades (UK) vs. Honoka Nakanishi (APSU) Unfinished
6. Maialen Morante (UK) vs. Yu-Hua Cheng (APSU) Unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 4, 2, 3*
Doubles
1. Fiona Arrese/Florencia Urrutia (UK) def. Jana Leder/Aleks Topalovic (APSU) 6-2
2. Carla Girbau/Ellie Eades (UK) def. Honoka Nakanishi/Denise Torrealba (APSU) 6-2
3. Carlota Molina/Lidia Gonzalez (UK) vs. Yu-Hua Chneng/Martina Paladini-Jennings (APSU) Unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2*
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s tennis program, follow @UKWomensTennis on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
