Women’s Tennis Central: #14 Tennessee at Ole Miss, Mississippi State

Rounding out the 2023 regular season, the 14th-ranked Tennessee women’s tennis team takes to the state of Mississippi for a pair of matches that will cap the season schedule and push the team into postseason play.

The Lady Vols (16-4, 9-2 SEC) take on Ole Miss at 4 p.m. ET at Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center on Friday, April 13, before heading to Starkville to take on Mississippi State at 2 p.m. ET at A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Sunday, April 15.

Tennessee has locked up a double-bye in next week’s SEC Championship, posting a 9-2 record in conference play thus far. The Lady Vols need just one more conference victory to tie the program record for SEC wins, and a pair of victories over the weekend would set a new high-water mark for single-season conference wins.

Last time out, the Lady Vols celebrated their talented seniors Daria Kuczer and Rebeka Mertena in a dominating 4-1 victory over South Carolina. Elza Tomase was incredible in the match, dropping then-No. 8 Ayana Akli, 6-4, 6-3, on Court 1. Akli entered the match a perfect 14-0 and had an 8-0 record in SEC play. The win marked Tomase’s first career top-10 victory. The standout sophomore also reached an impressive milestone in the match, posting career singles win No. 50 against the Gamecocks.

Friday’s matches will stream on SEC Network+ as part of the SEC CrossCourt Cast by Cracked Rackets, the whiparound coverage from matches across the league can be found HERE. Live stats against Ole Miss can be seen HERE, while streaming is available HERE. Sunday’s match at Mississippi State can be viewed by clicking HERE.

A PEEK AT THE CHARTS

Tuesday, the ITA updated its individual rankings. Below are each team’s ranked singles and doubles players.

Tennessee Lady Volunteers

Singles

#21 Elza Tomase

#26 Rebeka Mertena

#39 Daria Kuczer

Doubles

#40 Esther Adeshina/Rebeka Mertena

Ole Miss Rebels

Singles

#62 Ludmila Kareisova

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Singles

#95 Emmanouela Antonaki

HEAD COACH ALISON OJEDA

“It feels good to be back on the bus and headed to Mississippi for these matches right now. Our team has put in the work, just like every other weekend. It is not time to compete. Our eyes are firmly on Ole Miss because that is the task in front of us and they are a good team who will push us. I am looking forward to another challenge in this league.”

 

SCOUTING THE REBELS

Ole Miss (9-10, 3-8 SEC) enters the weekend having lost their last two matches to Texas A&M and LSU a week ago. The Rebels…