Thursday, 03/28/2013

KNOXVILLE - The No. 28 University of Tennessee women's tennis team behind some stellar doubles play, and the match clinching point by Caitlyn Williams, defeated No. 46 Kentucky Friday night 6-1 at the Goodfriend Tennis Center.

"We played a really good match, we stayed tough, and everyone competed really hard and I am just proud of their effort," said co-head coach Mike Patrick. "They played really good tennis today. There were good matchups for us and they did what they were supposed to do."

The Lady Vols jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead capturing the doubles point for the third time in SEC action. The night began with an 8-2 doubles win for Joanna Henderson and Caitlyn Williams and doubles ended as No. 4 ranked Brynn Boren and Kata Szkely bested their No. 1 doubles opponents 8-3 on court one.

With the victory, Boren and Szekely earned their 30th doubles victory of the season, just the third UT tandem, playing all doubles matches together, to hit 30 wins. The duo was also the first pair to achieve the feat since Vilmarie Castellvi and Agnes Wiski combined for 30 wins together in 2002.

All-Americans Paula and Peta Kelly combined for at least 30 victories all four seasons on Rocky Top from 1979-82.

Henderson kept that doubles momentum going into singles play as she flew through her match on court four defeating Kirsten Lewis 6-1, 6-0 in straight sets to give the Lady Vols their second point of the match.

Cruising along beside Henderson was Tiffany Tavares who sped through the first set 6-1, and fought in the second set to come out with a 6-2 victory giving the Lady Vols their third point of the match.

The game winner was decided by Williams on a soft lob over the net that Edmee Morin could just not reach to give the sophomore a 6-2, 6-3 victory.

"[Caitlyn] had a really good weekend last weekend last weekend and she carried it through to this weekend," said Patrick. "She is starting to turn the corner and getting out there and playing some competitive matches and getting up to speed where she is capable of playing."

Szekely and Fotopoulos each battled to the same 7-6 (7) first set, tie-break wins and used the momentum to continue on to sweeps of their Kentucky opponents.

Szekely finished with a 7-6 (7), 6-4 victory over Jessica Stiles, while Fotopoulos eked out a 7-6 (7), 7-5 victory on court five.

No. 20 ranked Boren dropped her No. 1 singles match to 38th ranked Nadia Ravita in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, the lone loss of the night for the Lady Vols.

Sometimes that last point is the hardest one to get," said Patrick. "We all competed well, it was a team effort. All good stuff by everybody today. I am proud of their effort and they need to bring it on Sunday."

The Lady Vols return to the courts, likely inside due to impending weather, Sunday morning in the first half of a women's/men's doubles doubleheader against Vanderbilt. Action starts at 10 a.m.

Tennis Match Results
Kentucky vs Tennessee
Mar 22, 2013 at Knoxville, Tenn.
(Goodfriend Tennis Center)
#28 Tennessee 6, #46 Kentucky 1

Singles competition
1. #38 Nadia Ravita (UK) def. #20 Brynn Boren (UT) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
2. #40 Kata Szekely (UT) def. Jessica Stiles (UK) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
3. Caitlyn Williams (UT) def. E. Morin-Kougoucheff (UK) 6-2, 6-3
4. Joanna Henderson (UT) def. Kirsten Lewis (UK) 6-1, 6-0
5. Mimi Fotopoulos (UT) def. Caitlin McGraw (UK) 7-6 (9-7), 7-5
6. Tiffany Tavares (UT) def. Stephanie Fox (UK) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #4 Brynn Boren/Kata Szekely (UT) def. Jessica Stiles/Caitlin McGraw (UK) 8-3
2. Joanna Henderson/Caitlyn Williams (UT) def. E. Morin-Kougoucheff/CeCe Witten (UK) 8-2
3. Mimi Fotopoulos/Sarah Toti (UT) vs. Nadia Ravita/Khristina Blajkevitc (UK) 5-4, unfinished

Match Notes:
Kentucky 12-6, 3-4 SEC; National ranking #46
Tennessee 6-6, 4-2 SEC; National ranking #28
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,6,3,1,2,5)