rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of Kentucky women’s tennis team suffered a 4-0 defeat to No. 25 South Carolina in an SEC matchup at the Carolina Tennis Center on Sunday. The Wildcats were unable to secure a victory in either singles or doubles as the Gamecocks dominated the match.
In doubles play, South Carolina won two of three matches. The Gamecocks’ top pairing of No. 36 Kaitlyn Carnicella and Sarah Hamner defeated Kentucky’s No. 87 fifth-year Lizzy Stevens and senior Ellie Eades 6-2. The third doubles match saw Helena Buchwald and Lauren Friedman beat junior Ellie Myers and freshman Tess Bucher 6-3. The second doubles match between freshman Asuncion Jadue and sophomore Julia Zhu and South Carolina’s Bella Larsson and Olympe Lancelot was left unfinished at 4-3 in favor of the Gamecocks.
In singles, Kentucky’s top player, Zoe Hammond, battled hard against No. 19 Sarah Hamner, but the match went unfinished with Hamner leading 6-1, 4-6, 1-0. On court two, Julia Zhu was edged out by South Carolina’s No. 92 Kaitlyn Carnicella, who came back after dropping the first set 2-6 to win the second 6-2. The match was also left unfinished. Kentucky’s Lizzy Stevens fought in a tough match on court three singles against Olympe Lancelot, but Lancelot led 7-6 (7-3), 3-0 when the match was called due to South Carolina securing the win.
The Gamecocks clinched the victory with wins at four, five, and six singles. Misa Malkin defeated Tess Bucher 6-1, 6-1, while Bella Larsson dominated Ellie Myers 6-1, 6-0. At six singles, Helena Buchwald closed out Asuncion Jadue 6-4, 6-3.
The loss drops Kentucky to 5-6 overall. The Wildcats will look to bounce back when they travel to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the Sooners on Friday.
For the latest on UK Women’s Tennis, follow @UKWomensTennis on Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
