Lady Vols Drop Road Match to Kentucky, 4-2

Sunday, March 28

Lexington, Ky.

Noon ET

University of Tennessee

Kentucky

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2021.03.07 - Tennessee vs. Florida

Photo by: Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

March 28, 2021 | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Ricky Martinez

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 19-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team fell on the road to No. 23-ranked Kentucky, 4-2.

The Lady Vols (10-6, 4-4 SEC) dropped the doubles point in a split decision to open the match, giving the Wildcats (13-4, 5-4 SEC) a 1-0 lead.

Senior Tenika McGiffin and sophomore Carly Briggs collected the lone doubles victory for the Big Orange. The tandem downed the No. 66-ranked duo of Carla Girbau and Elizabeth Stevens 6-3 on court two. The win moves the duo to 7-5 as a pair and marks their first win over a ranked opponent when paired together.

In singles play, Kentucky quickly picked up a win on court one to gain a 2-0 advantage.

Junior Daria Kuczer responded with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Fiona Arrese on court five to cut the Wildcat lead to 2-1. The win gives Kuczer her sixth-straight solo win dating back to Feb. 28 and moves her to an impressive 13-1 dual match record in her debut season in Orange and White.

The Wildcats then picked up a point on court three to gain a 3-1 advantage with courts two, four and six entering third sets.

Tenika McGiffin picked up a three-set (3-6, 6-3, 6-3) win on court four over Carla Girbau to cut the Wildcat advantage to 3-2. The win improves McGiffin to 9-4 in dual-match play and was also her first three-set win this season.

The Wildcats won the match 4-2 with a win on court six.

Up next, the Lady Vols return home to face Arkansas on Friday, April 2nd at noon ET at Barksdale Stadium.

Spectators at Barksdale Stadium will be limited to family and friends of the Tennessee women's tennis and visiting program, general admission is not permitted. Should the match be moved indoors the day of the match, those on the pass list will be permitted.

#23 Kentucky Women's Tennis 4, #19 Tennessee 2
Singles competition
1. #42 Akvile Parazinskaite (UK) def. #56 Eleonora Molinaro (UT) 6-2, 6-4
2. #119 Carlota Molina (UK) vs. #96 Rebeka Mertena (UT) 7-5, 4-6, 5-4, unfinished
3. #109 Lesedi Jacobs (UK) def. #46 Carly Briggs (UT) 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
4. Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Carla Girbau (UK) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
5. Daria Kuczer (UT) def. Fiona Arrese (UK) 6-2, 6-3
6. Maialen Morante (UK) def. Johanna Silva (UT) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. #6 Akvile Parazinskaite/Fiona Arrese (UK) def. #25 Esther Adeshina/Daria Kuczer (UT) 7-6 (13-11)
2. Tenika McGiffin/Carly Briggs (UT) def. #66 Carla Girbau/Elizabeth Stevens (UK) 6-3
3. Lesedi Jacobs/Anastasia Tkachenko (UK) def. Rebeka Mertena/Johanna Silva (UT) 6-2
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,5,3,4,6)

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