Women’s Tennis Falls to Vanderbilt in Conference Home Opener
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky women’s tennis (6-6, 0-3 SEC) fell to Vanderbilt (6-4, 1-2 SEC) on Sunday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center, 6-1.
The Wildcats were previously undefeated at home as they faced their third consecutive conference loss this spring in Sunday’s match.
Beginning the afternoon with Doubles play, Vanderbilt clinched the point to secure the 1-Nil advantage over Kentucky. On Court 1, the Wildcat duo of Ellie Eades and Lidia Gonzalez fell to Celia-Belle Mohr and Anessa Lee, 3-6. Court 3 was the deciding factor for the Doubles Point as the Commodore pairing of Holly Staff and Sonya Macavei overcame Zoe Hammond and Ellie Myers, 6-2. Court 2’s matchup of Makayla Mills/Lizzy Stevens and Bridget Stammel/Valeria Ray was left unfinished at 5-4 (VU).
In Singles competition, Court 1 was the first to finish as Stevens fell to Vanderbilt’s No. 1 Mohr, 1-6, 4-6. Up 2-0, the Commodores found another scoring opportunity on Court 3 as Gonzalez battled through three sets facing defeat against Stammel. The Kentucky junior won her first set 6-3 but was not as lucky in the following two, 0-6, 2-6. With Vanderbilt up 3-0, the fourth clinching point came from the four spot as Eades was overcome by Vandy’s Ray, 2-6, 2-6.
On Court 3, Hammond also fought hard through three sets winning the first against Lee, 6-4. Lee then equalized the match with a 7(8)-6(6) win in the second set. Playing to a 10-point tiebreak in the third to determine the point, Lee defeated Hammond 10-4. Julia Zhu was the next Wildcat to finish singles play falling on Court 5, 2-6, 2-6, to Vandy’s Staff.
With the overall score sitting at 6-0 Vanderbilt, Myers gave her best attempt to get one point on the board for the Wildcats in the six spot of the lineup. Through two sets and one 10-point tiebreak, she relentlessly fought against the Commodores’ Amy Stevens. The Kentucky sophomore came out on top 6-4, 6(8)-7(10), 11-9 to earn the victory. The match completed with an overall score of 6-1 Vandy.
Kentucky began SEC play on the road last weekend against No. 12 Auburn and No. 15 Alabama resulting in two losses. The Commodores also began conference competition in the same manner with two conference losses to Alabama and Auburn as well.
The Wildcats will be back at Boone Tennis Center Friday, March 15 and Sunday, March 17 to take on Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
RESULTS
Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt
UK 1, VU 6
Doubles
Mohr/Lee (VU) def. Eades/Gonzalez (UK) 6-3
Mills/Stevens (UK) vs. Stammel/Ray (VU) 4-5 uf
Staff/Macavei (VU) def. Hammond/Myers (UK) 6-2
Singles
Mohr (VU) def. Stevens (UK) 6-1, 6-4
Stammel (VU) def. Gonzalez (UK) 3-6, 6-0, 6-2
Lee (VU) def. Hammond (UK) 4-6, 7-6, [10-4]
Ray (VU) def. Eades (UK) 6-2, 6-2
Staff (VU) def. Zhu (UK) 6-2, 6-2
Myers (UK) def. Stevens (VU) 6-4, 6-7, [11-9]
Order of Finish:
Doubles— 1,3, 2 uf
Singles— 1,2,4,3,5,6
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