Feb. 1, 2004

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - In a match that closely mimicked Saturday's performance against Texas A&M, Maryland's women's tennis team was tripped up by No. 15 Kentucky, 4-3. The No. 5 singles position made the difference between a win and a loss for the No. 75 Terrapins, who now fall to 0-2 after facing steep competition at the Wildcats Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center this weekend.

After loosing the first doubles match, Maryland took the early lead as they did Saturday against the No. 25 Aggies.

The Terps rebounded when Marianne Baker (Glenelg, Md.) and Emily Marker (Ann Arbor, Mich.) improved to 2-0 on the season, with their 8-5 win over Sarah Foster and Aibika Kalsarieva. Ramona But (Timisoara, Romania) and Neda Mihneva sealed the deal with their convincing 8-3 win over Coventry and Christine Simpson.

With a 1-0 lead, Maryland headed into singles action.

Kentucky evened the score when Lara Maurer breezed by Andreea Fusea (Bucharest, Romania), 6-1, 6-0. Marker, ranked No. 44 by the ITA, squared off against No. 23 Aibika Kalsarieva. She proved to be too much for Marker, sweeping both sets from the Terps' senior co-captain, 6-1, 6-2.

The Wildcats took a 3-1 lead when Baker was downed by KU's Joelle Schwenk, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3.

Maryland tied the match at three when But and Masha Senic (Glenmont, N.Y.), playing in the Nos. 2 and 6 positions, won their respective singles matches. But who recently recieved an ITA ranking of No. 58, defeated Sarah Foster in a three set match, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4, while Senic playing her first singles match of the spring season, easily defeated Caroline Winebrenner, 6-2, 6-1.

With the score tied at three, the winner would be decided through the match up of Jennifer Dent and Christine Simpson. Dent fought hard in the first set but was edged 7-5. The second set gave the win to the Wildcats, as Simpson took the set 6-4.

The Terps will continue to battle opponents on the road until their first home match on St. Valentine's day. On Friday Feb. 6, Maryland heads north to Ann Arbor, Mich. when they take on the No. 23 Wolverines at 5 p.m. The next day, they will play South Carolina at Michigan at 11 a.m.

Kentucky 4, Maryland 3 - FINAL
Order of doubles finish: 2, 1, 3
Order of singles finish: 4, 1, 3, 2, 6, 5* (*Clinched match)

Doubles

Foster/Kalsarieva (UK) 5
Baker/Marker (UM) 8
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Maurer/Schwenk (UK) 8
Chavardes/Rogers (UM) 2
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Coventry/Simpson (UK) 3
But/Mihneva (UM) 8
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Singles

(23)Aibika Kalsarieva (UK) 6 6
(44)Emily Marker (UM) 2 1
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Sarah Foster (UK) 2 6 4
Ramona But (UM) 6 1 6
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Joelle Schwenk (UK) 6 3 6
Marianne Baker (UM) 0 6 3
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Lara Maurer (UK) 6 6
Andreea Fusea (UM) 1 0
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Christine Simpson (UK) 7 6
Jennifer Dent (UM) 5 4
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Caroline Winebrenner (UK) 2 1
Masha Senic (UM) 6 6