SEC Tournament awaits UK women’s tennis
Junior Kirsten Lewis serves the ball during a match in Lexington, Ky., on Sunday, March 1,2015. Photo by John Paul Williams
April 15, 2015
By Hunter Mitchell
The postseason has arrived for UK women’s tennis as the team will travel to Columbia, S.C., on Thursday to face Ole Miss.
UK is looking for a long run in the SEC Tournament to gain back some momentum from its recent play. The Cats have lost five straight games, four of which were against Top 30-ranked teams.
After falling 4-0 to No. 10 Texas A&M in the regular season finale, No. 21 UK procured an 8-seed in the SEC tournament with a final record of 15-11. Ole Miss, ranked 25th in the nation, is coming off a close 4-3 win over Mississippi State and is currently on a three-game winning streak. The Rebels secured a 9-seed in the tournament.
Ole Miss features senior Julia Jones, who recently became the seventh player in the program to secure 100 career wins in singles. Jones defeated 24 nationally-ranked opponents in that span, 16 of which have come this year.
The Cats defeated Ole Miss earlier this season, pulling a 4-3 upset over the then-No. 15 Rebels in late February.
Senior Kelsey Dieters was a big part of UK’s victory as she won in straight sets (6-2, 6-1) over Ole Miss freshman Natalie Suk.
UK sophomore Taylor Lederman then closed it for the Cats, securing her own straight-set victory (6-2, 6-2) over Rebels senior Iris Verboven.
Thursday’s match between UK and Ole Miss will begin on the second day of the tournament at 10:00 a.m. The winner will face 1-seed Florida on Friday.
