Kentucky womens tennis snaps five-game win streak, falls to No. 13 Auburn 5-2

Elizabeth Stevens high fives Carla Girbau after scoring a point 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

Parker Scott, Reporter

No. 51 Kentucky womens tennis (12-8) came up short against No. 13 Auburn (15-5) at the Boone Tennis Center on Friday, losing 5-2 to the Tigers.

Despite the loss, two ranked wins came out of the match for the Wildcats, with one being in doubles and the other in singles.

In doubles play, the duo of sophomore Ellie Eades and freshman Zoe Hammond picked up the first ranked win against No. 80 Adeline Flach and Angella Okutoyi.

However, Kentucky lost out on the doubles point for just the fourth time in the season, giving Auburn the early advantage.

Sophomore Lidia Gonzalez was the first to finish her singles match, which ended in a point for the Wildcats as she defeated Kaitlyn Carnicella in straight sets of 6-1, 6-1.

Auburn created a 3-1 lead after winning the next two singles matches, but senior Florencia Urrutia defeated No. 32 Carolyn Ansari to put the team back into contention.

Urrutia’s victory, which took three sets with scores of 6-2, 6-7 (7-5) and 7-5, was her fourth consecutive ranked win.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the Tigers pulled out the last two matches in three sets, giving them the victory.

The loss snapped Kentucky’s five-game win streak and brought its SEC record to 4-5, which stands at seventh in the conference.

Kentucky will return to the Boone Center to face Alabama on Sunday, April 2, at noon EST.