Zoe Hammond Shows Strength as Wildcats Fall to Oklahoma – UK Athletics

NORMAN, Okla. – The No. 66 Kentucky women’s tennis team dropped a tough match to No. 12 Oklahoma on Friday at the Headington Family Tennis Center, falling 6-1. The lone point came from Oklahoma native Zoe Hammond on court one, who defeated No. 34 Alina Shcherbinina at the top singles spot.

There was positive doubles play from the duo of Elizabeth Stevens and Ellie Eades who defeated Oklahoma’s No. 63-ranked pair of Alina Shcherbinina and Cara Mester, 6-3. It came down to court three where Hammond and junior Ellie Myers dropped the set 6-3, as did the second court duo of sophomore Julia Zhu and freshman Asuncion Jadue.

The Sooners quickly regained control, sweeping the remaining singles matches besides Hammond on court one. No. 74 Emma Staker defeated Elizabeth Stevens, 6-1, 6-3, while Ava Catanzarite downed Tess Bucher, 6-4, 6-2. Gloriana Nahum defeated Asuncion Jadue 6-3, 6-3, and Salakthip Ounmuang bested No. 66 Julia Zhu 6-3, 6-2. In a tightly contested battle, Chloe Noel edged out Ellie Myers in a tiebreaker, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), leaving Hammond as the only court to finish.

Hammond’s victory was a hard-fought comeback after dropping the first set, bouncing back to clinch the Wildcats only point of the match after the two teams agreed to play out following the Sooners 4-0 clinch.

The Wildcats, now 6-8, will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas on Sunday to complete their weekend on the road. The match will begin at 1 p.m. and should be a good matchup as the Razorbacks rank just behind the Wildcats in the ITA poll at No. 70.

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