Kentucky womens tennis falls to Texas A&M 5-2

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Carter Skaggs

Kentucky Wildcats freshman Zoe Hammond waits for her singles opponent to serve during the Kentucky vs. Alabama womens tennis match on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Kentucky. Alabama won 4-1. Photo by Carter Skaggs | Staff

Luke Fetzer, Staff Reporter

No. 57 Kentucky womens tennis was dismantled by a dominant Texas A&M team on April 14, losing 5-2 at home.

The Cats had been struggling in the matches before the meeting with the Aggies, falling in five straight games and losing momentum ahead of the approaching SEC tournament.

Entering Lexington was a team that no one wanted to face, the 24-1 Aggies, led by No. 2 ranked Mary Stoiana, who showed why the team from College Station is a force to respect.

Stoaina was slated for the first game, where she would face Florencia Urrutia, a respected player in her own right, ranked No. 41 nationally.

Unfortunately for the senior, Urrutia was quickly dispatched in straight sets 6-1,6-4.

Things didn’t get much better for the Cats after that, as Elizabeth Stevens, Ellie Eades, Carlota Molina and Zoe Hammond were also bested in straight sets.

The lone bright spot for the Wildcats came from sophomore Lidia Gonzalez, who took home the only singles victory, defeating Daria Smetannikov in straight sets 7-5 and 7-5.

The doubles squads fared much better than the single matchups, seeing the Cats claim the sole point.

Molina and Stevens took care of business in the first match, defeating Salma Ewing and Jayci Goldsmith 6-2.

Aggie stars Mia Kupres and Stoaina then thrashed Gonzalez and Hammond, not forfeiting a single game to the Wildcats, winning 6-0.

The last match was more competitive than the first two, as this match would decide who took home the doubles point.

Eades and Urruita stepped up to face off against Gianna Pielet and Smetannikov, winning a tantalizing match 6-4.

With only one conference matchup remaining against LSU in Lexington, the Cats will look to celebrate their seniors by snapping their five-game losing streak and enter the SEC Championship with a positive record.

The match against the Tigers will be played at the Boone Tennis Complex, with the first match set to start at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 16, in Lexington.