No. 15-seeded Kentucky (9-16, 1-14 SEC) women’s tennis fell to No. 10-seeded Ole Miss (15-11, 6-9 SEC) in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Wildcats struggled mightily in SEC play this year, winning just one game in conference play. The Wildcats were looking forward to a fresh start in this tournament, yet were unable to change the trajectory they faced the regular season
Kentucky struggled against Ole Miss just a couple of days ago, where it fell 4-0.
Ole Miss started this game eerily similar to how it started the matchup just a week ago in Lexington. The Rebels took both games in doubles, earning the doubles point just as they did before.
No. 9 Emily Welker and Andrea Nova took care of Kentucky’s Zoe Hammond and Asuncion Jadue 6-2. Ole Miss wrapped up the doubles point with Riley Crowder and Alice Soulie routing Julia Zhu and Marina Fuduric 6-3 to give the Rebels a 1-0 heading into the singles portion of the match.
Ole Miss didn’t miss a beat when the match transitioned to singles.
No. 19 Welker took control over No. 76 Hammond just as she did last week, proving that she was superior in this match by winning in consecutive sets – this time by a score of 6-1 in both sets.
With Welker’s second straight win over Hammond in less than a week, she gave the Rebels a 2-0 lead.
Nova had command of her match against Kentucky’s Elena Molla from start to finish. Nova took down Molla in straight sets, both won by a score 6-3. One more win from the Rebels would give them the win.
Ole Miss’ Crowder won her faceoff against Donna Le Roux to win the match for the Rebels. Crowder won the match in straight sets by a score of 6-4 in both.
The Rebels clinched the match and their ticket to the Quarterfinals against Vanderbilt with the domination over Kentucky.
Kentucky has not had a winning regular season conference performance since 2018-19. The Cats’ overall performance this season was a sharp decline from what was seen in the 2024-25 season.
The Wildcats’ season will come to a close with this loss in the SEC tournament. The Cats will happily turn the page and look forward to the fall campaign.
