Lexington, Ky. – No. 7 Texas Women’s Tennis defeated No. 71 Kentucky, 4-2, on Friday at the Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Ky. It was the seventh-straight win for the Longhorns, all coming in SEC play.

After falling in the first doubles match to finish at No. 2, Texas rallied for a win at No. 3 and a tiebreaker victory at No. 1 to claim the point. The Longhorns followed with singles wins by freshmen Elizabeth Ionescu at No. 4 and No. 12 Anastasia Abbagnato at No. 2 for a 3-0 lead. Kentucky picked up wins at No. 1 and then No. 6 right before freshman Mathilde Ngijol-Carré could clinch at No. 5. Sophomore No. 71 Eszter Meri was also one game away from a possible win at No. 3 when play stopped.

During doubles, Ngijol-Carré and sophomore Carmen Herea paired at No. 2, and although they took an early lead, Marina Fuduric and Zoe Hammond came back for a 7-5 win. Texas answered with a 6-4 at No. 3 by Ionescu and Meri over Julia Zhu and Donna Le Roux. That turned the attention to No. 1 where the No. 53 duo of Abbagnato and sophomore Salma Drugdova rallied from their own early deficit for a 7-6 (5) tiebreaker victory over Reese Sager and Asuncion Jadue to clinch the point.

Ionescu was then first off the singles court, using a 9-0 run during the match to complete a string of winning 12 of the last 13 games in the match for a 6-3, 6-1 win over Elena Molla at No. 4. Abbagnato then extended the overall lead to 3-0 with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Zhu at No. 2. A short time later, the Wildcats got on the board as No. 1 Herea fell to Hammond, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 1.

That left three matches going, and although Ngijol-Carré had match points at No. 5 that would have made her the first to finish, the match at No. 6 ended being next where Drugdova came up short in three sets to Le Roux, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. However, three games later, Ngijol-Carré got across the line with a 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over Jadue to clinch the Texas victory.

Meri was then one game away from a potential win when play halted, leading Sager, 6-0, 4-6, 5-4, at No. 3, but the match went unfinished.

The Longhorns will next return home to face No. 18 Tennessee at the Texas Tennis Center on Sunday, March 22, at 12 p.m. CT.

#7 Texas 4, #71 Kentucky 2

Singles – Order of Finish (4,2,1,6,5)

1. Zoe Hammond (UK) def. #1 Carmen Herea (TEX) 6-3, 6-3

2. #12 Anastasia Abbagnato (TEX) def. Julia Zhu (UK) 6-0, 7-5

3. Reese Sager (UK) vs. #71 Eszter Meri (TEX) 0-6, 6-4, 4-5, unf.

4. Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX) def. Elena Molla (UK) 6-3, 6-1

5. Mathilde Ngijol-Carré (TEX) def. Asuncion Jadue (UK) 7-6 (5), 7-5

6. Donna Le Roux (UK) def. Salma Drugdova (TEX) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2

Doubles – Order of Finish (2,3,1)

1. #53 Anastasia Abbagnato/Salma Drugdova (TEX) def. Reese Sager/Asuncion Jadue (UK) 7-6 (5)

2. Marina Fuduric/Zoe Hammond (UK) def. Carmen Herea/Mathilde Ngijol-Carré (TEX) 7-5

3. Elizabeth Ionescu/Eszter Meri (TEX) def. Julia Zhu/Donna Le Roux (UK) 6-4

Individual Match Key Moments

(by order of finish)

Doubles No. 2: Fuduric/Hammond (UK) def. Herea/Ngijol-Carré (TEX) 7-5

Match: Texas took leads of 4-1 and 5-2, but Kentucky closed on a 5-0 run with one deuce point.

Doubles No. 3: Ionescu/Meri (TEX) def. Zhu/Le Roux (UK) 6-4

Match: Texas held at deuce and broke for 2-0, which was the first of four-straight breaks until Kentucky held for 3-3. The Longhorns later broke again for 6-4 and the match.

Doubles No. 1: Abbagnato/Drugdova (TEX) def. Sager/Jadue (UK) 7-6 (5)

Match: Kentucky got out to a 5-1 lead, but Texas went on a 6-0 run, including deflecting a match point at deuce for 5-5.

Tiebreaker: Similar to the set, the Wildcats moved out to a 5-2 lead, but the Longhorns closed on a 5-0 run for the win and the clinch.

Singles No. 4: Ionescu (TEX) def. Molla (UK) 6-3, 6-1

Set One: Molla took a 3-0 lead, but Ionescu set out on a 9-0 total run with the first six for the set.

Set Two: Ionescu won the first three and the last three games to complete 12 of the last 13.

Singles No. 2: Abbagnato (TEX) def. Zhu (UK) 6-0, 7-5 

Set One: Abbagnato swept the first set.

Set Two: The twice players exchanged breaks, first for 2-0 for Zhu and 2-1, and then 4-2 for Zhu and 4-3. They did it again for 5-4 for Abbagnato and 5-5, but this time Abbagnato broke again and served out the match.

Singles No. 1: Hammond (UK) def. Herea (TEX) 6-3, 6-3

Set One: Hammond broke in the opening game and again for 4-1, and although Herea got back within 4-3, Hammond held on a deuce point for 5-3 and then broke for the set. 

Set Two: Hammond broke in the second game as part of a 3-0 run to start. Herea go the break back for 3-2, but Hammond broke and held for 5-2 and held on a deuce point in the last game for 6-3.

Singles No. 6: Le Roux (UK) def. Drugdova (TEX) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2

Set One: Le Roux opened on a 4-0 run, and although Drugdova made it 4-2, Le Roux broke and held for the set. 

Set Two: After three holds and three breaks gave Drugdova a 4-2 lead, she held and broke again for the set.

Set Three: The third set repeated the scoring pattern from the first set. 

Singles No. 5: Ngijol-Carré (TEX) def. Jadue (UK) 7-6 (5), 7-5 

Set One: Ngijol-Carré got out to leads of 4-1 and 5-2, but Jadue evened it, 5-5, on the way to a tiebreaker.

Set One Tiebreaker: Ngijol-Carré took a 3-0 lead, and although Jadue gradually came back until pulling even, 5-5, Ngijol-Carré claimed the last two points to win.

Set Two: The first four games were breaks until Jadue held for 3-2 and Ngijol-Carré held for 3-3. The players then combined for five-straight breaks with three of those coming at deuce from 4-4 to 5-5, until Ngijol-Carré held for 7-5 and the match.

Singles No. 3: Sager (UK) vs. Meri (TEX) 0-6, 6-4, 4-5, unf.

Set One: Meri swept the first set, 6-0.

Set Two: Sager took a 4-1 lead, but Meri evened it, 4-4, and had a deuce point for the lead, but Sager broke on it and held for the set.

Set Three: Sager broke and held for 2-0, but Meri got the break back on a deuce point for 3-3. Sager broke again for 4-3, however Meri broke back and held to be one game from a win when play stopped.