LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky women’s tennis saw success on Senior Day, hosting a doubleheader in the last home matches of the season against the No. 34 Florida Gators (8-11, 4-9 SEC) and the Bellarmine Knights (3-20, 1-8 ASUN). Boasting victories in both matches, the Wildcats are now 11-11 on the season, 4-9 in SEC play, with just two matches left and the conference tournament ahead. Seniors Ellie Eades, Lidia Gonzalez and Lizzy Stevens were celebrated in a Senior Day ceremony prior to the beginning of the first match.
Doubles play against Florida kicked off the day, where courts one and two put up good fights but fell short of victory, earning Florida the point. Sophomore Julia Zhu and junior Ellie Myers were leading over Florida’s Oliveras and Parker when the match was abandoned.
Singles featured some hard-fought wins for the Wildcats. Lizzy Stevens earned a comeback win on court three, defeating Florida’s Talia Neilson-Gatenby 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, to secure the Wildcats’ first point. Not far behind, junior Zoe Hammond evened the score with a statement win over No. 21 Rachel Gailis 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 on court one. Florida’s No. 75 Alicia Dudeney took the match over Zhu, going 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, to give the Gators a 3-2 edge. But the Wildcats weren’t done yet. Junior Ellie Myers dominated in the number six spot, winning a quick two-set match 6-0, 6-1. The clinch came when freshman Asuncion Jadue rallied to overcome Florida’s Noemie Oliveras 7-5, 6-3, giving the Wildcats a narrow 4-3 victory. Defeating Florida comes as a huge, ranked victory late in the season for Kentucky. That momentum carried on into the second match to follow against Bellarmine.
Match two featured a different doubles pairing on court one, with Eades and Bucher teaming up to claim a fast 6-1 victory. However, Bellarmine’s doubles proved strong, winning on courts two and three. With those victories, the Knights earned the doubles point, taking an early 1-0 lead.
But it wasn’t long before the Wildcats struck back, winning four straight in singles play. Courts one and two remained the same with Hammond and Zhu leading the front, but with Lizzy Stevens out for the second match, freshman Tess Bucher resumed the three spot and Myers took on the four. The first to finish, Bucher swiftly defeated Bellarmine’s Vendula Kryslova 6-1, 6-1, evening the score 1-1. Shortly after, the Wildcats took the lead as Myers secured a victory on court four, defeating Reese Parker 6-2, 6-0. Zhu followed suit with a quick two-set 6-2, 6-1 win to widen the gap. The overall victory came when Hammond defended court one with a 6-3, 7-5 showdown against Ekaterina Tikhonko. With a strong effort against Bellarmine following a close match against Florida, the Wildcats tallied a 2-0 record on Senior Day.
After a long three-match weekend, Kentucky looks to its final two matches of the season facing Vanderbilt on Friday, April 11 at 3 p.m. ET in Nashville, followed by a match in Columbia taking on the Missouri Tigers on Sunday, April 13 at 11:30 a.m. ET
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