Kentucky women’s tennis lost a close match to No. 33 South Carolina, 4-3, in Columbia on April 4. The Wildcats fought throughout their last road Southeastern Conference (SEC) match of the regular season but came up just short.
The result is significant as it marks Kentucky’s thirteenth loss in SEC play this season, leaving the team with a conference record of 1-12 and an overall record of 9-13. Despite the defeat, several players delivered strong performances that kept the match competitive until the end.
The doubles competition set an early tone for the Wildcats. On court two, Donna Le Roux and Julia Zhu were defeated by Kaitlyn Carnicella and Jana Stojanova of South Carolina, losing 6-1. However, Kentucky secured wins on courts one and three: Ellie Myers and Zoe Hammond won their match against Jane Dunyon and Sara Borkop with a score of 6-4, while Reese Sager and Asuncion Jadue claimed a notable victory over No. 12 Helena Buchwald and Lauren Friedman by another score of 6-4. These results gave Kentucky an early lead by securing the doubles point.
In singles play, Hammond lost to Carnicella on court one (6-4, 6-2), evening the score at one apiece. Freshman Elena Molla put Kentucky back ahead with a straight-set win over Taylor Goetz (6-3, 6-4). Jadue then fell to Stojanova (7-5, 6-3), tying things again at two points each.
Le Roux helped regain momentum for Kentucky after coming from behind to defeat Dunyon in three sets (4-6, 7-5, 6-2). With only two matches left—both going into third sets—Zhu was defeated by Buchwald while Sager fell to Borkop after a long contest that lasted four hours total.
Looking ahead, Kentucky will return home to finish its regular season at Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex next Thursday before celebrating its seniors during Saturday’s final home match.
