The Kennesaw State women’s tennis team fell to a 0-4 season record after dropping matches to the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday, Jan. 17, and the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday, Jan. 19.
For its third match of the 2020 season, the Owls traveled to Lexington, Kentucky, for their match against the Wildcats. UK won the match in a sweep, beating KSU 7-0 after winning the doubles point and all six singles points.
The Wildcats took a 1-0 advantage after seizing the doubles point to begin the match. The point was clinched when UK won the day’s first two doubles matches by respective scores of 6-2 and 6-1.
In doubles play, KSU relied heavily on its underclassmen. The Owls’ highest doubles pairing featured freshmen Taylor Dean and Paola Cortez, who were defeated 6-2 by the Wildcats. On the second doubles group, freshman Tina Vlajic teamed up with sophomore Juliana Castellanos and lost 6-1.
Senior Elle Baker and junior Brenna Reilly filled the final doubles spot for the Owls but their match went unfinished after UK seized the doubles point. The duo was leading 5-2 in the first set when their match was called.
Singles play was dominated by the Wildcats, who won all six of the individual matches. Despite the loss, KSU was helped by respectable performances from Dean and senior Aspen Jarrett. Competing on the first line for singles, Dean kept her match close but was defeated 6-4, 6-3.
Filling the fifth singles line for the Owls was Jarrett, who won the second set of her match to force a tiebreaker. After dropping the first set 6-3, Jarrett responded by winning 7-5 in a tough second set. She fell just short in the deciding tiebreak and lost the match for a final score of 6-3, 7-5, 1-0.
“Aspen did a phenomenal job of competing and leaving it all out there,” KSU Director of Tennis Matt Emery said. “She put herself in a position but came up just short.”
After the loss, Emery explained that the young team needed to play with more intensity.
“There were a couple spots tonight where we just didn’t quite [dig] our teeth into the match,” Emery said. “As a team, we have to do a little bit better job of embracing adversity and loving the battle.”
KSU then traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for its next match on Sunday, Jan. 19. The Crimson Tide swept the Owls in a 7-0 victory.
In the doubles point against Alabama, KSU deployed two of the same pairings from the team’s previous match. This time around, Jarrett joined Vlajic for the third line pairing.
The Crimson Tide prevailed to win the doubles point with wins of 6-2 on the first line and 7-5 on the second. The duo of Vlajic and Jarrett found success, as they forced a tiebreaker after ending the round 6-6. The pair was trailing 5-3 in the tiebreaker set when the match was called.
“We took some huge steps forward as a team today,” Emery said. “Our doubles are getting better each match, and we were only a couple points away from getting the doubles point today. Across the board, the women left everything out on the court.”
Alabama dominated singles play, winning all six matches to clinch a 7-0 win. Cortez shined for KSU, as she was the only Owl to win a singles set on the day. Playing on the second line, Cortez won the first set 6-3 before falling short 6-0 and 6-2 in the following sets.
Up next, KSU will seek its first win of the season at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, as they travel to face the Clemson Tigers.
