No. 17 Lady Vols Conquer No. 25 Commodores, 4-3 – University of Tennessee Athletics – University of Tennessee Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 17 Tennessee tennis team won its first match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend against No. 25 Vanderbilt, 4-3, on Friday at Goodfriend Tennis Center. The victory marked the Lady Volunteers’ first ranked showdown of the year, sending them to the ITA Kickoff Regional Championship The Big Orange will face No. 18 USC at 3 p.m. Saturday at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

Tennessee (5-0) failed to produce a point in doubles, falling behind early in the match. Vanderbilt (0-2) snared the lead with doubles on courts three and one. On court three, senior Lauren Anzalotta and sophomore Catherine Aulia fell in a 2-6 loss against Bridget Stammel and Valeria Ray. On court one, senior Sofia Cabezas and junior Elza Tomase worked their way back from a 3-5 deficit to cut the Commodores lead to a game. The pair fell short to Celia-Belle Mohr and Anessa Lee in a 4-6 result.

Graduate student Alana Wolfberg and senior Esther Adeshina logged the Lady Vols lone doubles win over Holly staff and Sonya Macavei, 6-3.

With the doubles point in the rearview mirror, the four Lady Vols who lost in doubles turned the match around in singles.

It was an uphill battle, as Wolfberg dropped the first singles match against Anessa Lee, 6-0 and 6-3. Cabezas also fell in a 2-6, 4-6 loss to Celia-Belle Mohr on court one.

With the squad down 3-0, Anzalotta hung a 6-4, 6-1 victory against Holly Staff on court five. Aulia followed by landing a three-set thriller against Bridget Stammel on court two. Aulia tallied a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 triumph to put the Lady Vols down by one point, 3-2.

On court four, Tomase tied the match with yet another three-set barnburner, edging over Valeria Ray, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. With the match tied up at three-all, it came down to sophomore Leyla Britez Risso. Risso rallied to put up a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win over Sonya Macavei to clinch the match in a 4-3 victory.

UP NEXT:

The Big Orange is set to face No. 18 USC tomorrow in the ITA Kickoff Weekend Regional Championship match at 3 p.m. The match will take place at Goodfriend Tennis Center and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Match Notables:

• The Lady Volunteers’ win marked the 770th victory of the Tennessee women’s tennis program.

• Head Coach Alison Ojeda now owns 126 victories during her tenure.

• The Lady Vols moved to 37-29 all-time against Vanderbilt, extending Tennessee’s win streak to two matches.

• The last time Tennessee hosted an ITA Kickoff weekend was in 2012, welcoming UC Davis, Tulsa, Michigan and Notre Dame to Knoxville.

• 2012 was also the last time the Lady Vols hosted and won its first match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, where they beat UC Davis 5-0.

• The squad moved to 13-9 when participating in the ITA Kickoff Weekend.

• The last time the team advanced to the Championship was in 2012.

• This is the first time since 2018 that the team has opened up a season with a 5-0 start, the third time in the Ojeda era.

• Senior Lauren Anzalotta earned her 40th career singles victory.