University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols Set to Open Fall Season
September 21, 2017 | Women's Tennis
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Tennessee women's tennis team is set to begin its 2017 fall season this weekend, competing in the 31st annual Debbie Southern Fall Classic on Sept. 22-24.
Formerly known as the Furman Fall Classic, the tournament was renamed this year in honor of longtime Furman women's tennis coach who retired a few years ago.
The Lady Vols return four players from last year and welcome three newcomers, as head coach Alison Ojeda enters her second season.
Last year, UT had one of its most productive seasons in recent years, earning its most wins (19) and highest ITA ranking (12th) since 2011. The Big Orange also earned their first berth in the NCAA Championships since 2014, advancing to the second round.
"We definitely want to build off of last year," Ojeda said. "We did exceed expectations to a certain extent, but the thing is these guys are capable of doing a lot, so we're nowhere near where we could be. We're using last year simply as a building block to get ready for this upcoming year. Right now, we've got our first tournament coming up this weekend. I think, as a coach, everybody hopes that you're a little bit more ready than we really are for the first time around, but the truth is that we are where we are. We need this weekend so we can get some matches under our belt."
The tournament consists of 10 teams ranked in the top 50 of the 2017 ITA team Collegiate Tennis rankings: Ohio State (3rd), Vanderbilt (4th), North Carolina (5th), Mississippi State (20th), Texas (22nd), Tennessee (24th), Florida State (30th), Clemson (31st), Ole Miss (32nd), and Wake Forest (33rd). Furman is the other team competing over the weekend.
The stout draw also includes 20 singles players and 10 doubles teams ranked in the preseason ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings.
"Competition is tough," Ojeda said. "From a competition standpoint, we are definitely looking at some quality opponents. This will be good for us. We need to go in and see where we are. These are the teams we will be competing against this spring."
Play will be held at the Mickel Tennis Center, beginning at 9 a.m. each day. The tournament includes nine singles flights and four doubles.
The schedule for the weekend is one singles and two doubles matches on Friday, one round of singles and doubles on Saturday and one round of singles on Sunday. The schedule is subject to change, pending on weather throughout the tournament.
The scheduled matchups for Friday are:
Debbie Southern Fall Classic
Doubles Round One (9 a.m.)
Riley/Schuck (UT) vs. Omiro/Ulyashchenko (WF)
Hammond/McGiffin (UT) vs. Wagland/Perez-Mur (Texas)
Silva/Sawyer (UT) vs. Kozarov/Greene (Furman)
Doubles Round Two (10 a.m.)
Riley/Schuck (UT) vs. TBA
Hammond/McGiffin (UT) vs. TBA
Silva/Sawyer (UT) vs. TBA
Singles Round One (11:30 a.m.)
Sadie Hammond (UT) vs. No. 46 Emma Davis (WF)
Ariadna Riley (UT) vs. Bojana Markovis (Texas)
Johanna Silva (UT) vs. Petra Hule (FSU)
Gabby Schuck (UT) vs. Carol Elizabeth Kerman (Furman)
Chelsea Sawyer (UT) vs. Lexi Franco (WF)
Tenika McGiffin (UT) vs. Maggi Kane (UNC)
For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee women's tennis program, follow @Vol_WTennis on Twitter.
Formerly known as the Furman Fall Classic, the tournament was renamed this year in honor of longtime Furman women's tennis coach who retired a few years ago.
The Lady Vols return four players from last year and welcome three newcomers, as head coach Alison Ojeda enters her second season.
Last year, UT had one of its most productive seasons in recent years, earning its most wins (19) and highest ITA ranking (12th) since 2011. The Big Orange also earned their first berth in the NCAA Championships since 2014, advancing to the second round.
"We definitely want to build off of last year," Ojeda said. "We did exceed expectations to a certain extent, but the thing is these guys are capable of doing a lot, so we're nowhere near where we could be. We're using last year simply as a building block to get ready for this upcoming year. Right now, we've got our first tournament coming up this weekend. I think, as a coach, everybody hopes that you're a little bit more ready than we really are for the first time around, but the truth is that we are where we are. We need this weekend so we can get some matches under our belt."
The tournament consists of 10 teams ranked in the top 50 of the 2017 ITA team Collegiate Tennis rankings: Ohio State (3rd), Vanderbilt (4th), North Carolina (5th), Mississippi State (20th), Texas (22nd), Tennessee (24th), Florida State (30th), Clemson (31st), Ole Miss (32nd), and Wake Forest (33rd). Furman is the other team competing over the weekend.
The stout draw also includes 20 singles players and 10 doubles teams ranked in the preseason ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings.
"Competition is tough," Ojeda said. "From a competition standpoint, we are definitely looking at some quality opponents. This will be good for us. We need to go in and see where we are. These are the teams we will be competing against this spring."
Play will be held at the Mickel Tennis Center, beginning at 9 a.m. each day. The tournament includes nine singles flights and four doubles.
The schedule for the weekend is one singles and two doubles matches on Friday, one round of singles and doubles on Saturday and one round of singles on Sunday. The schedule is subject to change, pending on weather throughout the tournament.
The scheduled matchups for Friday are:
Debbie Southern Fall Classic
Doubles Round One (9 a.m.)
Riley/Schuck (UT) vs. Omiro/Ulyashchenko (WF)
Hammond/McGiffin (UT) vs. Wagland/Perez-Mur (Texas)
Silva/Sawyer (UT) vs. Kozarov/Greene (Furman)
Doubles Round Two (10 a.m.)
Riley/Schuck (UT) vs. TBA
Hammond/McGiffin (UT) vs. TBA
Silva/Sawyer (UT) vs. TBA
Singles Round One (11:30 a.m.)
Sadie Hammond (UT) vs. No. 46 Emma Davis (WF)
Ariadna Riley (UT) vs. Bojana Markovis (Texas)
Johanna Silva (UT) vs. Petra Hule (FSU)
Gabby Schuck (UT) vs. Carol Elizabeth Kerman (Furman)
Chelsea Sawyer (UT) vs. Lexi Franco (WF)
Tenika McGiffin (UT) vs. Maggi Kane (UNC)
For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee women's tennis program, follow @Vol_WTennis on Twitter.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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