College Tennis News - Adams-Kilgo Advance To Sweet 16 of Doubles Championship

URBANA, Ill. – Texas Tech’s No. 16 Samantha Adams and>Kenna Kilgo upset No. 12 Courtney Colton and Lauren Mira of Vanderbilt, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, in the Round of 32 at the NCAA Doubles Championships on Thursday at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex/Atkins Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Illinois.

“I am excited to see Sam and Kenna get through this one,” said Lady Raider head coach Todd Petty. “They had a very poor start, but they were able to make some very important adjustments. At this point, it is so much about them and how they handle the situation rather than who the opponent is.”

Adams and Kilgo (23-9) advance to face No. 1 Kate Fuller and Silvia Garcia of Georgia, who withstood an upset alert from No. 23 Natalie Beazant and Dominique Harmath of Rice. Fuller and Garcia outlasted Beazant and Harmath, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Colton and Mira picked up the early break in the first set, 2-1, and never looked back. The Vanderbilt duo rolled to a fast 6-1 win in the first set.

The two teams traded serve to open the second standard, but then Adams and Kilgo picked up a break at 3-2. Texas Tech’s tandem then captured four straight games to win the second, 6-2.

Vanderbilt picked up a break and lead 3-1 in the third, but then the momentum shifted, as Adams and Kilgo held serve and then broke Colton and Mira to tie the match, 3-3. Texas Tech did not stop there, as Adams and Kilgo put it in high gear and marched to a 6-3 win in the third.

If Adams and Kilgo get past Fuller and Garcia and advance to the Elite Eight, they will face two teams they already know – Alabama’s Alexa Guarachi and Mary Anne Macfarlane or Florida’s Lauren Embree and Sofie Oyen. Adams and Kilgo defeated then No. 2 Guarachi and Macfarlane in February, 8-5. They faced Florida’s Embree at the ITA All-American in Los Angeles last October and lost, 9-7.

The Texas Tech tandem is 5-3 against opponents ranked in the Top 15 over the last two years, including a pair of wins against No. 2 Guarachi and Macfarlane of Alabama and No. 2 Kristy Frilling and Shannon Mathews of Notre Dame last season.

The Adams-Kilgo win is the first doubles win in three chances for the Lady Raiders. Annemarie Walson and Paula Brigance were selected for the 1988 NCAA Doubles Championships, but fell in the first round. Adams and Kilgo lost in the first round to a team from UCLA last season.

Previously, the lone NCAA Championships win was in singles by then freshman Zana Zlebnik, who defeated Arizona State’s Karin Palme, 6-4, 6-1, before falling to Kylie Hunt of Kansas, 6-2, 6-3 in the Round of 32 in 1998.