Mertena secured the victory over Ayana Akli of South Carolina, 6-3, 6-3. Her success came on the ability to capitalize on break points, taking 4-of-5 in the first set and 7-of-11 for the entire match. With the win over No. 42 Akli, the fifth-year senior from Latvia secured her first ranked victory of the season and 20th of her career.
“Rebeka has been hungry to get back on the court and compete since she returned from Cary two weekends ago, and that showed today,” head coach Alison Ojeda said. “She showed quite a bit of maturity, being able to stay focused in the second set and that’s something she has improved on from the past.”
With the victory, Mertena advances to face eighth-ranked Georgia Drummy from Duke in the Round of 16. Match times are expected to be released later this evening.
“She is setup for another exciting match tomorrow,” Ojeda continued. “Both of the girls know a lot about each other so it will be an exciting battle.”
In doubles, Mertena and Esther Adeshina were defeated in the first round, falling to Boston College’s Maria Aguiar/Laura Lopez, 6-3, 6-3.
Match times will be announced when available from the ITA. Streaming for tomorrow’s match can be found from Cracked Racquets on YouTube by clicking here, or on Playsight by clicking here.
Full coverage of the event can also be found on the Tennessee Women’s Tennis official Twitter page, @Vol_WTennis or by viewing the streams listed above.
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