Kentucky women’s tennis (9-14, 1-13 SEC) fell 4-1 to No. 12 LSU (15-7, 8-6 SEC).
The Wildcats opened the match on a high note, claiming the doubles point.
No. 57 Asuncion Jadue and Reese Sager earned their first win as a ranked duo, defeating Cadence Brace and Carolina Kuhl 6-2. The Tigers responded with a 6-3 victory from No. 30 Kenna Erickson and Ella McDonald over Donna Le Roux and Julia Zhu.
Kentucky secured the doubles point as Zoe Hammond and Ellie Myers defeated Alexia Marginean and Addison Lanton 6-3.
“Yes, I think, you know, doubles is something that we’ve been struggling with for a bit,” Diego Garavito said. “And, you know, for the last two weekends, I think the girls have figured out what we’re expecting from them in the doubles, and they’ve been executing to the point of, of course, giving us momentum.”
Despite the strong start, the Wildcats were unable to carry that momentum into singles play.
No. 73 Hammond was the first Wildcat to fall, dropping a 6-1, 6-2 decision to No. 26 Brace after trailing early in the opening set.
Sager followed with a 6-2, 6-3 loss to No. 119 Lanton. After dropping the first set, Sager managed to build an early lead in the second, but could not maintain it.
Elena Molla also fell in straight sets, losing 6-2, 6-3 to Kuhl despite taking an early advantage in the second set.
With the match within reach, LSU secured the final point needed to clinch the victory.
Jadue battled in a tight opening set before falling 7-5 and was unable to recover in the second, dropping it 6-2 to Erickson.
“Yeah, I think, at the end of the day, you know, the girls have a choice to make,” Diego Garavito said. “You know, when we play in these matches, these players, you’re always gonna not feel good, and we have to be able to just respond to it consistently. I don’t think we did that today. I think we let them off pretty easy. We gotta learn from it.”
Matches featuring Le Roux and No. 99 Zhu were halted once the team result was decided. Zhu was tied late in the second set after dropping the first, while Le Roux trailed in the second after winning a tightly contested opening set.
As the Wildcats turn their attention to the postseason, the focus remains on capitalizing on opportunities and putting together more complete performances.
“Yes, look, at this point, you know, it’s something that we’ve been stressing—I’ve been stressing to them—is we got to do it for Kentucky, for the opportunity that we have to be here,” Garavito said. “So we have to take another opportunity on Saturday. I think we’re capable to do very good things. You just have to come out and do it.”
