Kentucky women’s tennis played its SEC opener at home against Tennessee in a back-and-forth battle, with Tennessee taking the win 4-2.
The Wildcats would have a rough start, getting nearly swept in doubles play. The team of Zoe Hammond and Tess Bucher would lose 6-1.
Additionally, the then undefeated duo of Julia Zhu and Asuncion Jadue would take their first doubles loss of the season, going down 6-2.
Lizzy Stevens and Ellie Eades’ match was stopped early with Tennessee already securing the win in doubles.
“We need all eight players to bring it whether on or off the court,” assistant coach Diego Garavito said. “It’s an amazing opportunity and we just got to go out there and swing.”
Kentucky would look to get its rhythm going heading into singles down 1-0.
Stevens and Eades would look to pick up singles wins after being stopped during their comeback in doubles, but would both fall short. Stevens would go against No. 36 Catherine Aulia, going down 6-1, 6-2, extending the Volunteer lead 2-0.
Eades, after having a rough set and losing 6-1, looked to battle back against No. 69 Leyla Britez Risso, but would go down 6-4 in the second set, leaving Tennessee one win away from victory.
Hammond, after suffering a rough loss in doubles play, would come back with a fire in her, pulling off a major upset against No. 5 Elza Tomase. In a very competitive match, Hammond would end up pulling out the win 6-4, 6-2, with her biggest win of the season so far.
Zhu, looking to come back from her doubles performance, would make a splash against Maeve Thornton. Zhu would take the win 6-1, 6-2 in an incredible performance. She is currently ranked 59th in Division-I.
“Very important, always want to open up strong in-conference play, especially at home,” Head Coach Shelley Jaudon said. “Tennessee has had a great year last year, their strong this year it’s going to be a good battle.”
The Wildcats would look to keep fighting against the 3-0 lead of Tennessee and, with the wins from Hammond and Zhu, they were close to pulling off the come from behind victory.
Freshman standouts Bucher and Jadue would look to seal the comeback win, but would fall short of their goal.
Bucher would go down 6-3 in the first set and Jadue 6-1. Both would look to battle back to help lead Kentucky to a victory, but, after starting the second set hot leading 2-1, Bucher would lose the next five serves, going down 6-2 and sealing the Volunteers’ victory. Jadue’s match would go unfinished after leading 3-1 in the second set.
Kentucky will be back in action on the road heading to Baton Rouge to play the Louisiana State Tigers. The match will take place at 6 p.m. ET at the LSU Tennis Complex.
