“It’s a great day from an entire team standpoint,” head coach Alison Ojeda said. “I think we can put in all three singles players who made it to the quarterfinals and add in Lauren who really gave herself a chance with her match this evening.”
In a day that lasted nine and a half hours for some, it all started with a strong showing in doubles. All three pairings won their lone match of the day, making Tennessee the only school with multiple pairings into the quarters. Five other programs have just one duo in the final eight groupings.
“Doubles came out with an energy and a focus that we have been preaching and love to see,” Ojeda said, talking about the strong start. “This whole week, the last five days, they have been bringing the energy and the enthusiasm that we have been preaching and it is fantastic to see.”
Rebeka Mertena got it started and after battling through a three-set second round match, she blanked Xavier’s Abigail Siminski, 6-0, 6-0. For Daria Kuczer, it was the reverse. She breezed through her first match of the day, 6-1, 6-1 and kept that fight going in the Round of 16, topping seventh-seeded Laylo Bakhodirova from ETSU, 6-1, 7-5.
In the final two matches, a night session under the lights, Elza Tomase and Lauren Anzalotta battled through some tightly contested matches. Tomase, after winning the first set in a tiebreaker, went down early in the second set. She didn’t panic however, keeping her poise and earning a few breaks, while also holding serve. She took the second set to a tiebreaker and also got it done there, finishing 7-6(4), 7-6(2). Anzalotta was on the opposite side, battling hard but falling to Vanderbilt’s Celia-Belle Mohr, 6-4, 7-5.
Tennessee returns to Barksdale Stadium tomorrow for quarterfinal action in both singles and doubles. Doubles matches are slated to take the court at 10 a.m. while singles play will follow suit, tentatively scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
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