Kentucky women’s tennis (9-11) suffered a narrow 4-3 loss to No. 11 Vanderbilt (18-5, 8-3 SEC).
The Wildcats started slowly, dropping the doubles point. Zoe Hammond and Ellie Myers fell 6-2 to Sophia Webster and Erin Pearce, but were unable to gain momentum early in the match.
Despite a strong performance from Ascuncion Jadue and Reese Sager, it was No. 25 Bridget Stammel and Valeria Ray who secured the doubles point for the Commodores with a 6-4 win.
Julia Zhu and Donna Le Roux had their match stopped early with the doubles point already decided while they were leading 5-4.
Vanderbilt carried its momentum into singles play as Pearce picked up her second win of the day with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Elena Molla to extend the Commodores’ lead to 2-0.
Kentucky responded with singles wins from Sager and Jadue to get on the board. Sager delivered an upset over No. 93 Mia Yamakita, winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Jadue followed with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Trineta Vijayakumar to tie the overall score.
The Wildcats looked to carry that momentum, but after dropping a competitive first set 6-4, Zhu was unable to regain control and fell 6-2 in the second set against No. 25 Ray.
Hammond then faced No. 33 Stammel in a match that would help decide the outcome. After dropping the first set 6-0, Hammond responded to take the second set 6-4.
The two battled back-and-forth in the third set, but Stammel secured the match with a 7-5 final set win, clinching the victory for Vanderbilt.
“Yeah, obviously super proud of them,” Kentucky head coach Shelley Jaudon said. “I mean, they fought their guts out. We knew it would be a tough match. Our girls have been fighting so hard we haven’t quite gotten the result of it yet, and they’re so hungry for it and so really proud of them.”
Although the team result had been decided, Le Roux and Webster were allowed to finish their match. After falling behind 4-1 in the first set, Le Roux rallied to win the set 7-5 in a comeback effort. Webster took the second set 6-4 before Le Roux closed out the match with a 6-3 win in the third.
Kentucky now sits at 1-10 in SEC play in one of the most competitive conferences in the country, with the entire conference ranked outside of Missouri, South Carolina and Kentucky. The SEC also boasts six teams in the top 10, including the top three national rankings.
“Yeah, it’s obviously the toughest thing about the league is how good everyone is, but it’s the best thing about the league and that every time we step out on the courts, an opportunity for something to happen and just keep fighting, because our big one is going to come,” Jaudon said.