The Ohio Valley Regional Championships concluded Monday in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with two Wildcats forcing fourth-round finishes in a 128-player singles draw. Kentucky women’s tennis composed three doubles wins and seven singles wins in the annual affair.
“Regionals this year was a reminder to all of us on the team the level of competition and mental toughness required to compete at the elite level,” said head coach Carlos Drada. “We have gained valuable experience and we look forward to the rest of our season.”
Annually, the regional championships marks one of the biggest stages the Kentucky women’s tennis team competes on in the fall. This year’s tournament featured 22 teams including Austin Peay, Ball State, Belmont, Butler, Cincinnati, ETSU, Indiana, IUPUI, Kentucky, Lipscomb, Louisville, Memphis, Miami (Ohio), MTSU, Northern Kentucky, Purdue, Tennessee, hosts UT Chattanooga, UT Martin, Vanderbilt, Wright State and Xavier.
The Kentucky lineup highlighted six Wildcats – freshman Alexis Merrill, sophomore McKenzie Moorhead, senior Akvile Paražinskaite, juniors Anastasia Tkachenko and Diana Tkachenko and sophomore Brianna Tulloch.
A full look at the Ohio Valley Regional results are below.
Meanwhile, freshman Tiphanie Fiquet attended to her third International Tennis Federation tournament of her fall campaign, in Florence, South Carolina, on Oct. 14. Fiquet joined a qualifying field of 64 players, from 15 countries, competing for eight spots in the singles main draw.
In the first round, the newcomer was defeated by No. 10 seed Chieh-Yu Hsu of Taiwan in a 6-3, 6-2 decision.
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DOUBLES
First Round
Doubles Main Draw: (64s)
- Tkachenko-Tkachenko def. Herrington-Swiderski of Ball State (8-3)
- Merrill- Paražinskaite (BYE)
Doubles Flight B: (32s)
- Moorhead-Tulloch (BYE)
Second Round
Doubles Main Draw: (32s)
- Tkachenko-Tkachenko def. by Mukhametshina-Babic of Purdue (8-3)
- Merrill- Paražinskaite def. Zirilli-Kermet of MTSU (8-7(5))
Doubles Flight B: (16s)
- Moorhead-Tulloch def. Lee-Carelli of Belmont (8-3)
Third Round
Doubles Main Draw: (16s)
- Merrill- Paražinskaite def. by Reayer-Bente of Memphis (8-3)
Doubles Flight B: (qtrs)
- Moorhead-Tulloch def. by Ochalik/Lounsburg of IUPUI (8-1)
SINGLES
First Round
Singles Main Draw: (128s)
- A. Tkachenko def. by Topalovic of Memphis (7-5, 6-2)
- Tulloch def. by Burrows of MTSU (6-2, 7-6(0))
- Merrill def. by Kermit of MTSU (6-4, 6-3)
- D. Tkachenko (BYE)
- Paražinskaite (BYE)
Singles Flight B: (64s)
- Moorhead (BYE)
Second Round
Singles Main Draw: (64s)
- D. Tkachenko def. Schmidt of Austin Peay (6-1, 7-5)
- Paražinskaite def. Lysova of Miami (Ohio) (6-3, 6-7(7), 7-5)
Singles Flight B: (32s)
- Moorhead def. by Milano of WSU (6-3, 6-0)
Third Round
Singles Main Draw: (32s)
- D. Tkachenko def. Morton of Cincinnati (6-1, 4-6, 6-0)
- Paražinskaite def. Amaro of ETSU (6-4, 6-3)
Fourth Round
Singles Main Draw: (16s)
- D. Tkachenko def. by Meyer of Vanderbilt (4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4)
- Paražinskaite def. by Camapana of Vanderbilt (6-2, 6-0)
Consolations
Consolation Singles Main Draw: (64s)
- Merrill def. Lysova of Miami (Ohio) (5-7, 7-5, 1-0(5))
- A. Tkachenko def. by Kermet of MTSU (6-3, 2-6, 1-0(3)
- Tulloch def. by Hammond of Tennessee (6-2, 6-2)
Consolation Singles Main Draw: (32s)
· Merrill def. Van Hee of Chattanooga (6-3, 6-4)
· A. Tkachenko def. Lounsbury of IUPUI (6-0, 6-3)
· Tulloch def. by Swiderski of Ball State (6-2, 6-2)
Consolation Flight B Singles Draw: (32s)
· Moorhead def. by Ruether of Xavier (6-0, 6-2)
NEXT STOP
Next on Kentucky’s schedule is the Roberta Alison Invite in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Oct. 26-28. Hosted by Alabama, the event will mark 31 years since it was founded.
ABOUT ITF WOMEN’S CIRCUIT
The ITF Women’s Circuit provides entry level tournaments enabling players to eventually reach the Women’s Tennis Association Tour. ITF offers over 500 tournaments in over 60 countries, annually.Kentucky student-athletes are not permitted to accept prize money at ITF events due to NCAA rules.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s tennis program, follow @UKWomensTennis on Twitter, on Facebook at Facebook.com/UKWomensTennis, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
– GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Cami Moore
