Clemson Falls To Kentucky In NCAA Regional Final On Saturday

May 13, 2006

CLEMSON, SC – In Saturday’s NCAA women’s tennis regional final at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center, Kentucky defeated Clemson, 4-0, to advance to the round of 16. It marked the fifth straight year that the Wildcats have claimed the regional title. With the win, Kentucky improved to 19-9, while the Tigers ended their season at 17-8.

“It is a great feeling and a testament to our hard work and focus over the past few weeks,” Wildcat Head Coach Carlos Drada said. “There has been a lot of intensity and positive energy on our team that I would like to see continue for our next match.”

Kentucky took a 1-0 lead in the contest, winning two grueling doubles matches to clinch the point. Clemson claimed the first match of the day as Maria Brito and Marie Scriba defeated Danielle Petrisko and Carolina Winebrenner, 8-2, at flight three. The Wildcats then picked up a victory in the flight two contest. Lara Maurer and Joelle Schwenk won, 8-5, against Daniela Alvarez and Alexandra Luc to force the top doubles match-up to be the decider.

The Tiger team of Carol Salge and Federica van Adrichem led 6-3 over Kim Coventry and Carolina Escamilla, but the Kentucky team rebounded to tie the match at seven apiece. Coventry and Escamilla then won their eighth point of the match and broke van Adrichem’s serve to win the match and the doubles point for the Wildcats.

In singles action, the teams split the opening sets with each winning three first sets. Kentucky’s Joelle Schwenk defeated Alexandra Luc claimed the first set by a score of 6-2, but Carolina Escamilla took the second and third sets (6-0, 6-1) to give Kentucky a 3-0 advantage. Jessica Guiggioli then clinched the victory for the Wildcats with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Kathi Gerber at the flight six position.

Doubles 1. #27 Kim Coventry/Carolina Escamilla (UK) def. #19 Carol Salge/Federica van Adrichem (CU), 9-7 2. Lara Maurer/Joelle Schwenk (UK) def. Daniela Alvarez/Alexandra Luc (CU), 8-5 3. Maria Brito/Marie Scriba (CU) def. Danielle Petrisko/Caroline Winebrenner (UK), 8-2 Order of Finish – 3, 2, 1

Singles 1. Carol Sagle (CU) vs. Kim Coventry (UK), dnf 2. Daniela Alvarez (CU) vs. Lara Maurer (UK), dnf 3. Joelle Schwenk (UK) def. Federica van Adrichem (CU), 6-3, 6-0 4. Maria Brito (CU) vs. Danielle Petrisko (UK), dnf 5. Carolina Escamilla (UK) def. Alexandra Luc (CU), 2-6, 6-0, 6-1 6. Jessica Guiggioli (UK) def. Kathi Gerber (CU), 6-4, 6-1 Order of Finish – 3, 5, 6 * – clinched match Records: Kentucky – 19-9 Clemson – 17-8