Lexington, KY., Feb. 15, 2019 – USF fell to No. 23 Kentucky, 7-0 in Lexington, Ky., on Friday afternoon.
 
The Bulls dropped the doubles point on courts three and two, leaving court one unifinished to kick off the match. Kentucky doubled its lead when freshman Amelie Boy (Trianon, Mauritis) dropped the first singles match for the Bulls, 6-2, 6-3. Senior Vanja Klaric (Gaborone, Botswana) battled in her first set, but ultimately fell, 7-5, 6-3.
 
On court two, sophomore Evelyne Tiron (Bucharest, Romania), forced her opponent to three sets, but fell, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, in the Wildcats' final point needed to clinch the match. No. 36 senior Ana Roman Dominguez (Burgos, Spain), also won her first set, 6-3, but fell to No. 94 Justina Mikulskyte (Siaulial, Lithuania), 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, on court one to end her seven-game winning streak.
 
"We knew we were up against a very talented team and I felt we got intimidated in the very beginning," said head coach Cristina Moros. "We will learn and have no choice but to be better on Sunday for a very tough Tennessee team."
 
Freshman Laura Pellicer Perello (Gandia, Valencia, Spain), and senior Nicole Dzenga (Harare, Zimbabwe) were the final Bulls to wrap their matches up. Pellicer Perello fell to junior Diana Tkachenko (Moscow, Russia), 6-4, 6-3 on court five, while Dzenga lost to her opponent Anastasia Tkachenko (Moscow, Russia), 6-3, 6-3, on court six.
 
Match Results:
Singles competition:
1. #94 Justina Mikulskyte (UKWTEN) def. #36 ROMAN, Ana (USF) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Akvile Parazinskaite (UKWTEN) def. TIRON, Evelyne (USF) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Lesedi Jacobs (UKWTEN) def. KLARIC, Vanja (USF) 7-5, 6-3
4. Tiphanie Fiquet (UKWTEN) def. BOY, Amelie (USF) 6-2, 6-3
5. Diana Tkachenko (UKWTEN) def. PELLICER PERELLO, L (USF) 6-4, 6-3
6. Anastasia Tkachenko (UKWTEN) def. DZENGA, Nicole (USF) 6-3, 6-3
 
Doubles competition:
1. Justina Mikulskyte/Akvile Parazinskaite (UKWTEN) vs. DZENGA, Nicole/KLARIC, Vanja (USF) 4-1, unfinished
2. Lesedi Jacobs/Tiphanie Fiquet (UKWTEN) def. BOY, Amelie/ROMAN, Ana (USF) 6-1
3. Anastasia Tkachenko/Alexis Merrill (UKWTEN) def. CLARK, Janvhi/TIRON, Evelyne (USF) 6-0
 
Match Notes:
South Florida 4-4
Kentucky 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,3,2,1,5,6)
 
Up Next:
USF will play Tennessee on Sunday, Feb. 17 at noon at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

Be sure to follow USF women's tennis on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. Head coach Cristina Moros will be in her fifth year at the helm, as she led the program to an American Athletic Conference Championship in 2017.