KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee women’s tennis team members Vanesa Suarez, Maeve Thornton, Elim Yan and Saray Yli-Piipari are set to compete at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic, hosted at the Western Racquet Club from Sept. 27-29.
The women’s draw will feature competitors from Tennessee, Cincinnati, Washington State, Houston, Navy, Oklahoma, Purdue, Lipscomb, Marquette, Ole Miss and Wisconsin.
Play is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET on Friday, with the main draw of Round of 16 doubles matches beginning. Singles matches will follow throughout the day with the Round of 32 and the Round of 16 taking place. Singles Consolation matches will round out the day on Friday night.
Draws and times will be finalized by the end of the day on Thursday. The tournament will have live stats available for viewers.
Lady Vols in the Rankings:
Singles
No. 62 Elza Tomase
No. 81 Catherine Aulia
Doubles
No. 23 Catherine Aulia & Elza Tomase
No. 79 Leyla Britez Risso & Vanesa Suarez
Player Previews:
Vanesa Suarez – Junior
Suarez is set to take the court for the Big Orange for the first time after spending two seasons at Kansas State, where she was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team in 2023. During her stint as a Wildcat, she posted a 21-28 singles record while playing primarily at the No. 1 position in one of the nation’s premier leagues.
Maeve Thornton – Sophomore
Thornton joins the Lady Vols after a one year at Furman, where she posted a 9-11 dual-match record in singles and served as the No. 2 player in the Paladins’ lineup in 2024. Prior to her time in college, Thornton was rated a blue-chip recruit by tennisrecruiting.net and was ranked as high as No. 22 nationally. The top-ranked player in Tennessee led Knoxville Catholic to a pair of state championships and claimed two individual singles state titles.
Elim Yan – Freshman
Yan comes to Rocky Top after compiling an impressive junior tennis resume across the world. Most recently, she claimed both the J3 ITF Gallipoli Youth Cup title and the J2 ITF Thailand Doubles title. Yan was also the 2023 U18 Australian Nationals singles and doubles semifinalist, as well as a 2022 U18 Australian Nationals singles and doubles finalist. In 2023, Yan was crowned the South Australian 18s Player of the Year.
Saray Yli-Piipari – Freshman
The Peachtree Corners, Georgia, native is set for her debut after arriving at Tennessee in the Fall of 2024. Yli-Piipari, who graduated from Laurel Springs High…
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