#22 Tennessee Falls 4-3 Against #14 Aggies

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.  –The No. 22 Tennessee Women’s tennis team fell, 4-3, against No. 14 Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon at Barksdale Stadium. The squad claimed the doubles point before only tallying two wins in singles.

“It was a heartbreaker,” head coach Alison Ojeda said. “Reminded the team that we are really good and the season is honestly pretty young. So, you just keep at it. When you love what you do every day, as much as it hurts, you come back excited to be out here and these girls love it.”

Tennessee (11-5, 3-3 SEC) battled to piece together two doubles wins on courts one and two versus Texas A&M (13-6, 5-1 SEC). The No. 51-ranked pair of Alana Wolfberg and Esther Adeshina tallied the first doubles triumph against Lucciana Perez and Jeanette Mireles, 6-1. Lauren Anzalotta and Catherine Aulia dropped their match to Sydney Fitch and Nicol Khirin in a 4-6 defeat. The doubles point came down to the No. 57-ranked pair of Sofia Cabezas and Elza Tomase on court one. The duo posted a heroic comeback to ward off the No. 6-ranked pair of Mary Stoiana and Mia Kupres in a 7-6 (5) victory.

After the Lady Vols claimed the doubles advantage, the team could not overcome an impressive singles outing from the Aggies. Eleonora Molinaro fell to Jeanette Mireles in a 2-6, 2-6 decision. Alana Wolfberg dropped her contest against No. 17 Nicole Khirin, 4-6, 3-6. Lauren Anzalotta locked up the first singles win in the five spot over Daria Smetannikov with a 6-4, 7-5 result. No. 27 Sofia Cabezas forced a third set, but ultimately fell to No. 1 Mary Stoiana in a 3-6, 6-4, 3-6 affair. Elza Tomase mounted a comeback win against No. 30 Mia Kupres, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. No. 121 Catherine Aulia came up short in a 5-7, 6-3, 6-7 (7) bid to Lucciana Perez.

NEXT UP:

The Lady Vols will continue its homestand by facing Georgia on Sunday at Barksdale Stadium with the match slated to start at 1 p.m.

Match Notables:

• The squad secured the doubles advantage for the 13th time this season.

• The No. 57-ranked pair of Sofia Cabezas and Elza Tomase logged their second top-10 doubles victory of the season.

• The doubles pair of Esther Adeshina and Alana Wolfberg continued their perfect 4-0 winning streak in conference play.

• Graduate student Alana Wolfberg achieved her 40th doubles victory.

Results:

Singles

1. #1 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. #27 Sofia Cabezas (TENN) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3

2. #17 Nicole Khirin (TAMU) def. Alana Wolfberg (TENN) 6-4,…