KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 18 Tennessee Women’s tennis team posted its fourth consecutive victory with a convincing 6-1 win against Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon at Barksdale Stadium. The squad locked up the doubles advantage and then tallied six five singles wins to conclude the match.
“Big credit to Mississippi State for just battling start to finish,” head coach Alison Ojeda remarked. “We know that Chris (Hooshyar) has just taken over the program so my message to the team yesterday at practice was, he’s trying to change the culture and he’s gonna implement Chris Hooyshar’s style of tennis which is you are going to compete for every single point and at some point that’s gonna click. They already have, they are good players so at some point that is going to click and maybe that’s today. So, from our standpoint today as a team we had to be ready to go off from the very beginning until the last point was played and all matches were off the court and our team did that.”
Tennessee (15-6, 6-4 SEC) executed two quick doubles affairs on courts two and three against Mississippi State (10-14, 0-11). Lauren Anzalotta and Catherine Aulia tallied a 6-0 shutout over Sharani Niroshan and Jayna Clemens. The No. 70-ranked pair of Esther Adeshina and Alana Wolfberg notched a 6-0 win against Alessia Tagilente and Chloe Cirotte.
After an impressive doubles showing from the Lady Vols, the squad registered five singles wins to clinch the match. Adeshia landed a 6-1, 6-3 decision against Dharani Niroshan. Aulia added to the lead by tallying a 6-3, 6-4 result against Athina Pitta. Leyla Britez Risso etched a victory over Alessia Taglienete, 6-3, 6-4. Anzalotta posted a 6-4, 6-2 triumph against Jayna Clemens. Elza Tomase claimed a win over Alexandra Mikhaliuk in a 6-2, 6-4 contest.
“Since I’ve come here, I’ve been working really hard to play higher,” Tomase said “I’ve been enjoying every single day on and off the court. I think it’s really important to be coachable on the court and lead with a positive mindset all day long.”
Wolfberg was the lone Lady Vol to fall in singles play, dropping a 3-6, 6-2,10-6 defeat to Chloe Cirotte.
NEXT UP:
The Big Orange will continue SEC play at home on Friday against Kentucky with first serve scheduled for 4 p.m.
Match Notables:
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The win marked the 780th victory for the Tennessee women’s tennis program.
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Head coach Alison Ojeda now owns 136 victories during her tenure.
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The…
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