A program-record ninth SEC win over No. 20 Kentucky, 4-3, wrapped up the No. 12 Auburn women’s tennis team regular season Sunday.
“Kentucky is a talented team and one of the best doubles teams we have faced all year,” said Auburn coach Lauren Spencer. “We had to really dig deep and play our style of tennis and keep them on the court as long as we could. Kentucky likes to play hard and fast. We are a team that develops points and can grind it out for hours if we need to.”
Pleun Burgmans tied a career high with her 48th combined win this season after tying the match 1-1. Burgmans is also tied for seventh all-time in single-season singles victories with 26.
Trailing 3-1, freshman Caroline Turner picked up her 17th win of the season, defeating Kentucky’s Kirsten Lewis, 6-2, 6-2, and Andie Dikosavljevic tied the match at 3, extending her winning streak in singles to five, defeating No. 69 Justina Mikulskyte, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. With the win, Dikosavljevic now has 11 wins against ranked opponents this season.
Freshman Alannah Griffin clinched the match for Auburn with a three-set defeat over Akvile Parazinskaite 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (11-9). She improves to 25-11 (8-2) on the season.
“We knew that we needed keep the points long and not get into situations to allow them to bully us,” Spencer said. “This is our best road win of the season and I am proud of the team for finishing such a historic season. We look forward to taking this momentum into the SEC Championships next week.”
The Tigers will travel to Baton Rouge Monday and await the start of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday.
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