#30 Lady Bulldogs Drop Quarterfinal Match To #3 Kentucky 4-1
The Lady Bulldogs got off to a slow start in doubles as UK's 30th-rankedcombo of Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk posted an 8-0 triumph over MSU'sMagdi Rekasi and Haley Rudman at the second position. MSU's 21st-rankedtandem of Zsuzsanna Fodor and Anastasia Kugakolova upset Kentucky'ssixth-ranked duo of Sarah Foster and Aibika Kalsarieva 8-5 at the firstposition to keep the Bulldogs alive. At the third position, Lady BulldogsTarryn Rudman and Polina Kokoulina came but one game short of claiming thedoubles point, falling to UK's Emily Foster and Lara Maurer. UK's comboheld a 7-5 lead, but State tied the score at 7-7 before Kentucky took an 8-7lead. Rudman and Kokoulina tied the match at 8, forcing a tiebreaker, butultimately dropped the match by a score of 9-8.
No. 3 Kentucky took a 2-0 lead in the match after Schwenk downed State'sRenée Joseph 6-2, 6-0 in the first singles match at No. 4. MSU's TarrynRudman cut the lead in half at 2-1 as she upset the 54th-ranked Foster instraight sets 6-2, 6-3 at the third position. Rudman has won eight of herlast nine singles matches against league competition. At the highlyanticipated first position, SEC Player of the Year and the third-rankedKalsarieva defeated State's 15th-ranked Fodor 6-1, 6-2, giving the Wildcatsa 3-1 lead. UK's Danielle Petrisko clinched the match for the Wildcats whenshe knocked off Kokoulina 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6.
"We had some opportunities today, but it is hard to comeback after we lostthe momentum after losing the close doubles point," Lane said. "They werevery disciplined on the court and they took care of business. That's whythey are No. 3 in the country."
The two remaining matches were cut short once the Wildcats had secured thematch with their win at the sixth position. At the time the match wascalled, State's Kugakolova and Rekasi were both trailing one set to none.
The Lady Bulldogs next return to the court for first-round NCAA Regionals,May 13 and 14th. First-round match sites have yet to be determined. Thefinals will be played from May 19-28 at the University of Georgia's DanMagill Complex on the UGA campus.
#3 Kentucky 4, #30 Mississippi State 1
Doubles
1. #21 Fodor/Kugakolova (MSU) def. #6 Foster/Kalsarieva (UK) 8-5
2. #30 Coventry/Schwenk (UK) def. Rekasi/H. Rudman (MSU) 8-0
3. Foster/Maurer (UK) def. T. Rudman/Kokoulina (MSU) 9-8
Singles
1. #3 Aibika Kalsarieva (UK) def. #15 Zsuzsanna Fodor (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
2. #38 Kim Coventry (UK) vs. #113 Anastasia Kugakolova (MSU) 6-3, 2-1(susp.)
3. Tarryn Rudman (MSU) def. #54 Sarah Foster (UK) 6-2, 6-3
4. Joelle Schwenk (UK) def. Renée Joseph (MSU) 6-2, 6-0
5. Lara Maurer (UK) vs. Magdi Rekasi (MSU) 6-1, 3-4 (susp.)
6. Danielle Petrisko (UK) def. Polina Kokoulina (MSU) 6-2, 6-4