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AUBURN, Ala. — The Kentucky women’s tennis team (14-12) emerged victorious in a convincing 4-1 SEC Tournament win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. They now head into the second round where they will play the top 15 LSU Tigers.
The match was highlighted by a strong 1-0 start thanks to the doubles play. The No. 32 veteran duo of fifth-year Lizzy Stevens and senior Ellie Eades delivered the clinch for the Wildcats to give them the lead heading into singles. They defeated No. 42 Carolina Gomez Alonso and Olga Bienzobas 7-5. Junior Zoe Hammond and freshman Asuncion Jadue also got it done, finishing 6-4 over the Razorback’s duo of Anet Koskel and Grace O’Donnell.
Now leading 1-0, Kentucky headed to singles play where they saw lots of success. Freshman Tess Bucher had an incredible match, coming up with a 6-1, 6-1 win while playing on court four against Koskel. The other freshman, Jadue, did the same. Jadue defeated Katarina Pavlechova in convincing fashion, 6-1, 6-3. This gave Kentucky a 3-0 lead, which was huge for the momentum of the remainder of the match.
On court one, Arkansas earned their only point of the match after No. 77 Alonso defeated No. 39 Hammond 6-4, 7-5. Play on court two and six were both at match point for the Wildcats, but ultimately Julia Zhu completed the clinch first with a victory over Bienzobas 4-6, 6-0, 6-0.
The Wildcats now improve to 14-12 on the year and advance to the next round of the SEC Tournament. They look to face the No. 11 team in the country and No. 6 SEC seed LSU tomorrow, April 17 at 10 a.m. The last time the two met this season the Tigers defeated Kentucky in Baton Rouge 4-2, a match that brought lots of high-level play and a competitive atmosphere. Fans are encouraged to follow along via StatBroadcast or live stream.
For the latest on UK Women’s Tennis, follow @UKWomensTennis on Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
