No. 37 Alabama Women’s Tennis Drops 4-3 Heartbreaker in SEC Opener at No. 15 Kentucky

Friday, March 2

Lexington, Ky.

5 p.m.

Alabama

University of Kentucky

No. 37 Alabama Women’s Tennis Drops 4-3 Heartbreaker in SEC Opener at No. 15 Kentucky

3/2/2018 10:05:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score Box Score

No. 118 Andie Daniell defeated her first ranked opponent of the season, topping No. 117 Justina Mikulskyte in straight sets

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After tying the match at three apiece, the No. 37 Alabama women's tennis team dropped the final match and fell to No. 15 Kentucky, 4-3, at the Boone Tennis Center.

Alabama falls to 12-4 on the season while the Wildcats continue its win streak to six-straight matches.

The Crimson Tide took a 1-0 lead after claiming the doubles point to start the match. Kentucky's 42^nd-ranked doubles pair in the country topped junior Andie Daniell and freshman Kylie Moulin, 6-0, at No. 1, but the Tide rallied back and won its matches at No. 2 and 3 to clinch the advantage. Sophomores Ann Selim and Alba Cortina-Pou took care of Mikulskyte/Tkachenko on court two, 6-3, while senior Smith Hinton and sophomore Jacqueline Pelletier handled Jacobs/Tullloch on court three, 6-3.

In singles, the Wildcats knotted the match at 1-1 after defeating Moulin, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 4, and eventually took the lead after Mami Adachi topped Pelletier, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 3.

However, No. 118 Daniell picked up her first win over a ranked opponent this season at No. 1, taking down No. 117 Justina Mikulskyte, 7-6, 6-2, to tie the match at two apiece, but Kentucky's Emily Fanning defeated Hinton, 6-3, 7-5, at No. 2 to put the Wildcats back on top, 3-2.

Then at No. 6, Cortina-Pou dominated for two-straight sets, putting Alabama back in contention by tying the match at three apiece by defeating Brianna Tulloch, 6-3, 6-2.

In the deciding match, Kentucky's Lesedi Jacobs took set one, 6-3, but Selim fought back and tied set two at 6-6, but Jacobs won the tiebreaker to clinch the match for the Wildcats.

Up next, Alabama heads to Nashville, Tenn. to face No. 4 Vanderbilt at the Currey Tennis Center at 1 p.m. CT.

Alabama Match Results:

#15 Kentucky 4, #37 Alabama 3

Doubles

1. # 42 Adachi/Fanning (UK) def. Daniell/Moulin (UA) 6-0

2. Cortina-Pou/Selim (UA) def. Mikulskyte/Tkachenko (UK) 6-3

3. Hinton/Pelletier (UA) def. Jacobs/ Tulloch (UK) 6-3

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles

1. #118 Andie Daniell (UA) def. #117 Justina Mikulskyte (UK) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2

2. Emily Fanning (UK) def. Smith Hinton (UA) 6-3, 7-5

3. Mami Adachi (UK) def. Jacqueline Pelletier (UA) 6-2, 6-1

4. Diana Tkachenko (UK) def. Kylie Moulin (UA) 6-1, 6-2

5. Lesedi Jacobs (UK) def. Ann Selim (UA) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)

6. Alba Cortina-Pou (UA) def. Brianna Tulloch (UK) 6-3, 6-2

Order of Finish: 4, 3, 1, 2, 6, 5

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