MSU Drops First Round Match To Kentucky
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The No. 11 seeded Mississippi State University women's tennis team dropped their match to the No. 6 seeded Wildcats of Kentucky on Thursday in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Championship in Nashville, Tenn. The Championship is being held at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center on the Vanderbilt campus.
Kentucky won the doubles point to start the match with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. The No. 13 ranked Kentucky tandem of Sarah Foster and Aibika Kalsarieva defeated MSU's Anastasia Kugakalova and Magdi Rekasi on court one in an 8-2 decision. Marcelle Hirt and Justyna Switala dropped their match to Joelle Schwenk and Christine Simpson at No. 3, 8-5. The match between Lady Bulldogs Hayley Rudman and Tarryn Rudman and Wildcats Kim Coventry and Lara Mauer was suspended with Kentucky leading 6-3 at the second spot.
In singles, State's Hirt fell 6-1, 6-0 to No. 19 ranked Kalsarieva at the first position. Tarryn Rudman dropped her match to Schwenk at No. 3, 6-3, 6-3. Simpson clinched the match point for Kentucky with her 6-1, 6-2 victory over Yumi Ueda at the sixth position.
When the match was suspended, Kugakalova was leading No. 64 ranked Foster on court two, 7-5, 4-2. Rekasi was down 6-2, 4-5 to Mauer at No. 4, and Coventry was leading Switala at the fifth spot, 7-6 (3), 2-0.
#6 Kentucky 4 vs. #11 Mississippi State 0
Doubles
1. #13 Foster/Kalsarieva (UK) def. Kugakalova/Rekasi (MSU), 8-2
2. Mauer/Coventry (UK) led Hayley Rudman/Rudman (MSU), 6-3 susp.
3. Schwenk/Simpson (UK) def. Hirt/Switala (MSU), 8-5
Order of finish: 3, 1*
Singles
1. #19 Aibika Kalsarieva (UK) def. Marcella Hirt (MSU), 6-1,6-0
2. Anastasia Kugakalova (MSU) led #64 Sarah Foster (UK), 7-5, 4-2 susp.
3. Joelle Schwenk (UK) def. Tarryn Rudman (MSU), 6-3, 6-3
4. Lara Mauer (UK) led Magdi Rekasi (MSU), 6-2, 4-5 susp.
5. Kim Coventry (UK) led Justyna Switala (MSU), 7-6 (3), 2-0 susp.
6. Christine Simpson (UK) led Yumi Ueda (MSU), 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3, 6*