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LEXINGTON, Ky. — The No. 46 Kentucky women’s tennis team fought in a tough battle against No. 9 Auburn, being defeated 4-2 despite winning the doubles point and competitive play in singles from junior Zoe Hammond, who defeated the Tiger’s No. 3 DJ Bennett.
The Wildcats started the match with a huge doubles victory. Despite fifth-year Stevens and senior Ellie Eades falling to the Tiger’s No. 21 Bennett and Ava Hrastar, courts two and three fought back to put Kentucky up 1-0. Junior Ellie Myers and sophomore Julia Zhu escaped Auburn 7-5, with Hammond and freshman Asuncion Jadue clinching the doubles point 7-6(3) in a thriller.
In singles play, the Wildcats fought hard against ninth ranked Auburn on every court. However, the Tigers showed their depth, taking courts three and four rather quickly. Freshman Tess Bucher fell to No. 48 Merna Refaat 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, despite a strong showing and win in the first set. No. 86 Ava Hrastar defeated Stevens 7-6(2), 6-4. On court two, Zhu also dropped a point, putting Auburn up 3-1. However, it was Hammond on court one who gained tons of momentum for the Wildcats after defeating one of the nation’s best and 2024 NCAA Singles Championship Runner-Up in No. 3 DJ Bennett. This put Kentucky back within one (3-2), but ultimately, they were unable to pull the upset over No. 9 Auburn with Battesti beating Myers 6-2, 6-4.
Kentucky showed resilience despite the result of the match, and looks to move on to Sunday where they will celebrate Senior Day with a double-header against Florida at 1 p.m. and Bellarmine at 5 p.m. The ceremony for Ellie Eades, Lidia Gonzalez, and Lizzy Stevens will begin prior to the first match versus the Gators.
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