Women’s tennis splits first SEC matches on the road

By Tyler Spanyer | @KernelSpanyer

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The No. 53 Women’s Tennis team took their talents south as they opened up SEC play on the road.

In the first matchup, the Cats faced No. 50 Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.. The Cats were not able to come back from an early deficit and fell to the Razorbacks 4-3, the Cats first loss in seven matches.

UK lost the doubles point due to a tiebreak on court one that went the Razorbacks way. Freshman Nadia Ravita, who climbed up to No. 51 in the singles rankings this week, dropped a tough one to Arkansas’s Yang Pang, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4. Senior Jessica Stiles also dropped her match at the No. 2 position losing in straight sets 6-1, 6-0.

Sophomore Stephanie Fox earned the first point for the Cats winning in straight sets 7-6, 6-2. The Cats attempted to mount a comeback but the deficit was too much as they razorbacks held on to upset the Cats.

On Sunday the Cats got back on the road to face another ranked opponent, No. 63 LSU in Baton Rouge, La.

The Cats dropped the doubles point for the second consecutive match, but got a win from Ravita to even the score at 1-1. The Tigers went back in front with wins on courts three and four, giving the Tigers a commanding 3-1 lead. For the second match in a row the Cats would need to mount a comeback to win.

Stiles began the comeback with her straight set win in the No. 2 slot, with Fox following right behind her on court six to even the match at 3-3. The final point of the match would come down to court five where freshman Kirsten Lewis was able to win a thriller in three sets, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4. Lewis’ win completed the comeback as UK won its first SEC match of the year.

The Cats will return home when they host No. 71 Missouri on Friday at the Boone Tennis Complex.