LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 21, 2021) — Falling behind in five of the six singles bouts made for a tough uphill battle for the ETSU Women’s Tennis team against the Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday afternoon. The Wildcats defeated the Bucs, 7-0 in Lexington.

In doubles action, Kentucky won the first battle with a 6-2 victory at the No. 3 spot. The other two remaining doubles matches came down to the wire, but Kentucky won the point with a 7-5 victory at No. 1.

The Blue and Gold dropped the first set of all singles matches except at No. 5 where Maria Carvajal (Queretaro, Mexico) won the first set 6-2. Laylo Bakhodirova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan), Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga (Basauri, Spain) and Emilia Alfaro (Azul, Argentina) all forced a third set after falling behind 1-0. At the third singles bout, all of Pascual-Larrinaga’s sets were decided by two games or less.

Kentucky improves to 1-0 on the young season while the Blue and Gold fall to 0-2. The Bucs are back in action on Saturday as they travel to North Carolina to face the Davidson Wildcats at noon.

Singles Competition

1. Akvile Parazinskaite (UK) def. Laylo Bakhodirova (ETSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
2. Carlota Molina (UK) def. Alejandro Morales (ETSU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Elizabeth Stevens (UK) def. A. Pascual-Larrinaga (ETSU) 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Carla Girbau (UK) def. Emilia Alfaro (ETSU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
5. Fiona Arrese (UK) def. Maria F. Carvajal (ETSU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
6. Salsa Aher (UK) def. Yunuen Elizarraras (ETSU) 6-2, 6-3 

Doubles competition

1. Akvile Parazinskaite/Fiona Arrese (UK) def. Alejandro Morales/Mayya Gorbunova (ETSU) 7-5
2. Laylo Bakhodirova/Emilia Alfaro (ETSU) vs. Elizabeth Stevens/Carla Girbau (UK) no result
3. Lesedi Jacobs/Salsa Aher (UK) def. A. Pascual-Larrinaga/Maria F. Carvajal (ETSU) 6-2

Match Notes:
East Tennessee State 0-2
Kentucky Women's Tennis 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,1,4,5,3,6)

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For more information on Buccaneer women’s tennis visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s tennis page.