“We are thrilled to be hosting the Ohio Valley Regional tournament here on Rocky Top this week,” head coach Alison Ojeda said. “To have a chance to compete on our home courts and show our fans what we have been working on is exciting. As coaches, we will finally have the chance to see our entire team compete at the same event. That is incredibly important for our program’s development as we head into the last half of the fall.”
The six-day event kicked off Wednesday with qualifying action and concludes on Monday with the singles and doubles main draw championships. Tennessee returns the singles champion and runner-up as Elza Tomase claimed the tournament title last fall and Rebeka Mertena placed second, both qualified for the ITA Fall National Championships with their finals appearance. The Lady Vols have claimed the last two singles titles as Mertena was the singles winner at the 2019 regional tournament and the 2020 event did not take place due to the ongoing pandemic.
2022 marks the Lady Vols’ third time hosting the ITA Ohio Valley regional site. The event was previously in Knoxville both in 2014 and in 2010.
Three UT competitors make their debuts on the freshly painted courts of Barksdale Stadium, Lauren Anzalotta, Catherine Aulia and Ashtin Hara. Hara is playing in her first event of the fall while Anzalotta has played in two collegiate tournaments and Aulia in one, the Collegiate Ranked Spotlight +1/Wolfpack Invitational.
Singles competition kicks off at 11 a.m. with Eleonora Molinaro taking the court representing UT. Just one round of singles action will be played tomorrow, and doubles will start at 4 p.m. One round of doubles qualifying remains before the doubles draw is complete, two Tennessee pairs must wait till that ends to find out their opponents.
A full schedule for tomorrow’s events can be found below. The full draws and times can be found on the tournament webpage, or by clicking here. Streaming will also be available for all matches and can be viewed here.
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Schedule of Events
Singles
Eleonora Molinaro (TENN) vs. Aran…
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