BATON ROUGE, La. — Junior Skylar Kuykendall claimed her 11th win in a row and nation-leading 22nd of the season to clinch the match for No. 27 LSU over No. 21 Kentucky Thursday afternoon at W.T. ‘Dub’ Robinson Stadium.
The Lady Tigers improved to 17-8 overall and 7-5 in conference play with the 4-0 win. The seven SEC wins is the most for the program in the last 12 years. It was also the third top-30 win for LSU this season. Kentucky fell to 15-10 and 6-5 in conference.
“I thought all of the girls did a much better job of controlling the match,” head coach Julia Sell said. “That comes from the fact that we’ve been playing big matches and have beaten some quality opponents. To get this win over Kentucky is huge.”
The Lady Tigers got out with a hard fought doubles point. Kuykendall and her partner Abby Owens defeated Nadia Ravita and Kristen Lewis, 8-2, on court two.
The remaining doubles courts both went into a tiebreak. Joana Vale Costa and Noel Scott clinched the doubles point with a 8-7 (6-3) win on court one over No. 26 Mami Adachi and Aldila Sutjiadi.
“We fought really hard in doubles and have improved over the last two weeks. Even though we haven’t won many of the doubles points I still like the way we’ve competed,” Sell added.
Vale Costa led on court one 6-3, 3-0 early on. Sutijadi eventually retired to give the Lady Tigers the first singles point.
Owens put LSU up 3-0 with a 6-1, 6-4 win on court three over Kentucky’s Kelsey Dieters. The sophomore improved to 16-5 and 8-3 in conference.
Kuykendall wrapped the match up with her 7-5, 6-4 win over No. 66 Ravita on court two.
The final three courts remained unfinished as Kuykendall clinched the match over the Wildcats.
The Lady Tigers return to action against No. 8 Vanderbilt at 11 a.m. Sunday. It’s the final match for seniors Noel Scott and Mary Jeremiah as well as the final match at ‘Dub’ Robinson Stadium.
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#27 LSU 4, #21 Kentucky 0
Apr 09, 2015 at Baton Rouge, La.
(W.T. ‘Dub’ Robinson Stadium)
Singles competition
1. #35 Joana Vale Costa (LSU) def. Aldila Sutjiadi (UK) 6-3, 3-0, retired
2. #76 Skylar Kuykendall (LSU) def. #66 Nadia Ravita (UK) 7-5, 6-4
3. Abigail Owens (LSU) def. Kelsey Dieters (UK) 6-1, 6-4
4. Noel Scott (LSU) vs. Mami Adachi (UK) 4-6, 4-5, unfinished
5. Ella Taylor (LSU) vs. Kristen Lewis (UK) 6-2, 1-6, 1-1, unfinished
6. Skylar Holloway (LSU) vs. Stephanie Fox (UK) 6-7 (2-7), 1-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #50 Joana Vale Costa/Noel Scott (LSU) def. #26 Mami Adachi/Aldila Sutjiadi (UK) 8-7 (6-3)
2. Skylar Kuykendall/Abigail Owens (LSU) def. #85 Nadia Ravita/Kristen Lewis (UK) 8-2
3. Skylar Holloway/Amanda Atanasson (LSU) vs. Edmin Morin/Kelsey Dieters (UK) 7-7, unfinished
Match Notes:
Kentucky 15-10, 6-5 SEC; National ranking #21
LSU 17-8, 7-5 SEC; National ranking #27
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,3,2)