Kentucky women’s tennis (5-1) took full advantage of its home court with a dominant 6-1 win over Xavier (1-3).

The Wildcats faced an early challenge after dropping the doubles point. Ellie Myers and Donna Le Roux fell 6-4 to Emily Flowers and Natalie Smitek, putting Kentucky behind to start.

Zoe Hammond and Julia Zhu answered with a 6-4 win over Abby Nugent and Clara Owen to even the doubles competition, but Reese Sager and Ascuncion Jadue were edged out 7-5 in a tight match against Ella DeFord and Madeleine Rexroat, giving Xavier the early 1-0 lead.

Trailing for the first time, Kentucky responded with authority in singles play. Hammond set the tone with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory over Rexroat to tie the match. Sager followed with a composed 6-3, 6-3 win over Flowers, giving the Wildcats a 2-1 advantage.

Zhu delivered one of the most competitive matches of the day.

She claimed the first set 6-4 against Nugent before narrowly dropping the second in a 6-7 (7-5) tiebreak. Zhu regrouped and took complete control in the third set, cruising to a 6-1 finish to put Kentucky within one point of clinching the match.

Jadue secured the victory for the Wildcats in dramatic fashion. She battled to win the first set 7-6 (7-2), dropped a tight second-set tiebreak 7-6 (7-5), then found her rhythm in the deciding set.

With her serve firing on all cylinders, Jadue pulled away for a 6-3 third-set win to seal the team victory.

With the outcome decided, the remaining matches were played out. Le Roux capitalized on the opportunity, earning her first collegiate singles win with a gritty 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Owen. Myers followed with a strong 6-4, 7-5 win over Abigail Siminski to cap off a strong morning.

“The girls did a great job compartmentalizing, giving max effort for the first match and trying to do it again,” Kentucky assistant coach Stephen Ward said. “We’re going to go fuel up, stretch and come back strong in the afternoon.”

Kentucky women’s tennis (6-1) followed up their win with a dominant showing, sweeping Chicago State (0-8).

“Girls are ready,” Kentucky head coach Shelley Jaudon said. “They’re ready to get right back out there. They train for this. They’re made for it, so no worries there.”

There was no slow start for the Wildcats in this one. Kentucky came out strong in doubles, beginning with Le Roux and Myers dominating Danina Hughes and Nadjema Morille 6-1.

Jadue and Sager followed with an impressive 6-2 win over Camila Sanchez and Karolina Skowronska to quickly secure the doubles point.

Elena Molla and Marina Fuduric’s match went unfinished with the point already clinched, as they were leading 5-1 over Mackenzie King and Nikita Liyanage.

Sager carried her momentum into singles play with a commanding performance, recording a double bagel (6-0, 6-0) against King.

Zhu delivered one of the standout performances of the match, overpowering Skowronska in dominant fashion, 6-1, 6-0, as Kentucky secured the victory over the Cougars.

Molla made sure her day would not end unfinished this time, cruising to a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Liyanage.

Fuduric kept the momentum rolling with a decisive 6-2, 6-1 victory over Hughes, staying sharp despite the team result already being secured.

Myers put the exclamation point on the match in extended play, delivering a dominant double-bagel performance over Morille to seal an emphatic win for the Wildcats.

“Yeah, something right now, we’re still figuring out what the lineup is going to be looking like for the year,” Kentucky assistant coach Diego Garavito said. “So what we’re trying to do, on the purpose of it, is just give everybody a chance to get time on the court.”