Kentucky womens tennis upsets No. 18 Florida 4-2 in Gainesville
Carla Girbau hits the ball across the net during the University of Kentucky vs. Tennessee women’s tennis match on Sunday, March 28, 2021, at Hillary J. Boone Tennis Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Michael Clubb | Staff
March 21, 2023
Kentucky womens tennis won its first match in Gainesville since 2021 on Sunday after it upset No. 18 Florida 4-2 at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, Florida.
The win marks the Wildcats’ first ranked win since the 2021 SEC Tournament when Kentucky took down No. 19 Ole Miss.
The Wildcats would start out with a 1-0 advantage after they got their 12th doubles point in 15 matches behind a
revamped lineup.
Doubles court wins from senior Florencia Urrutia and sophomore Lidia Gonzalez, as well as junior Elizabeth Stevens and senior Carlota Molina allowed Kentucky to clinch the overall doubles point for the day.
Moving on to singles play, senior Maialen Morante won her match in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 as she did not lose a set all weekend.
Florida would get its first team point of the day on court two after sophomore Ellie Eades fell in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 to make the score 2-1.
No. 74 Urrutia would take the only ranked matchup of the day, beating No. 47 Carly Briggs. Urrutia took the first set 6-3, fell in set two 6-0 and won the deciding set 6-1 to extend Kentucky’s lead.
Gonzalez would fall short on court four after losing the first set 6-3, rebounding to win the second set 6-1, but eventually losing set three 6-1 to bring the Gators within one point.
With the score at 3-2, Molina would end the hopes of a Florida comeback on court three after winning set one 6-3, dropping set two 6-1 and winning the third set 6-3 to give Kentucky the overall victory.
A close match would go unfinished on court five with freshman Zoe Hammond dropping set one 6-4, rebounding to win set two 6-1 and holding a 5-3 deficit before her match was discontinued.
The Wildcats will look to carry this momentum as they head home to take on Eastern Kentucky in a double header at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center on Tuesday, March, 21.
Match one will be held at 11 a.m. EST, with match two beginning at 3 p.m. EST.
