Thursday, March 29
Knoxville
6:00 PM
University of Tennessee
4
vs
2
Auburn
Lady Vols Take Down No. 15 Auburn, 4-2
March 29, 2018 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The 38th-ranked Tennessee women's tennis triumphed over No. 15 Auburn, 4-2, to claim its first SEC victory of the season Thursday night in Goodfriend Tennis Center.
"Overall impression is that we came out with unbelievable energy and excitement," said head coach Alison Ojeda. "We came out and competed at the same high level like we had the last five or six matches. I want to say a massive thank you to our men's team for coming out and cheering for us. Our team is trying to do something we hadn't done before as a group competing. In order to let ourselves get to the next level, we have to allow ourselves to play big in big time moments. To have the guys and the rest of the fans cheering at home for us in these moments makes you want to step up and play well, and that is what our girls did."
The Lady Vols (14-7, 1-7 SEC) found themselves down early after Auburn led off with a 6-3 win on Court 3 in doubles. After being down 0-40 while serving tied 4-4, Gabby Schuck and Sadie Hammond stormed back to claim a victory on Court 2, 6-4, to even things up. The doubles point came down to Court 1, where Ariadna Riley and Kaitlin Staines clinched the early advantage in a tightly contested match, 7-6 (6), against the 67th-ranked duo in the country.
Hammond got things rolling for Tennessee in singles play, as she gave the Lady Vols their second point of the match with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Alizee Michaud on Court 1. Auburn took the next two courts to finish to even the score at 2-2.
The Tigers' momentum was stymied when Staines staged a comeback on Court 4 for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Andie Dikosavljevic. Johanna Silva clinched the match for the Big Orange, outlasting Georgie Axon in a tiebreaker, 6-3, 7-6 (1).
"It's an amazing feeling because we had only lost before," said Silva. "It was really time that we won. Every time it was super close. This time we finally won, and all the work paid off. We are really happy."
UT stays home, playing Alabama (noon) and Western Kentucky (5 p.m.) in a doubleheader on Saturday. For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee women's tennis program, follow @Vol_WTennis on Twitter.
#38 Tennessee 4, #15 Auburn 2
Singles
1. Sadie Hammond (UT) def. Alizee Michaud (AU) 6-1, 6-4
2. #79 Jaeda Daniel (AUBURN) def. Elizabeth Profit (UT) 6-1, 6-3
3. Ariadna Riley (UT) vs. Madeline Meredith (AU) 7-5, 5-3, unfinished
4. Kaitlin Staines (UT) def. Andie Dikosavljevic (AU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Taylor Russo (AU) def. Gabby Schuck (UT) 6-2, 6-4
6. Johanna Silva (UT) def. Georgie Axon (AU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
Doubles
1. Ariadna Riley/Kaitlin Staines (UT) def. #67 Alizee Michaud/Taylor Russo (AU) 7-6 (8-6)
2. Sadie Hammond/Gabby Schuck (UT) def. Georgie Axon/Caroline Turner (AU) 6-4
3. Jaeda Daniel/Madeline Meredith (AU) def. Chelsea Sawyer/Elizabeth Profit (UT) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,2,5,4,6)
"Overall impression is that we came out with unbelievable energy and excitement," said head coach Alison Ojeda. "We came out and competed at the same high level like we had the last five or six matches. I want to say a massive thank you to our men's team for coming out and cheering for us. Our team is trying to do something we hadn't done before as a group competing. In order to let ourselves get to the next level, we have to allow ourselves to play big in big time moments. To have the guys and the rest of the fans cheering at home for us in these moments makes you want to step up and play well, and that is what our girls did."
The Lady Vols (14-7, 1-7 SEC) found themselves down early after Auburn led off with a 6-3 win on Court 3 in doubles. After being down 0-40 while serving tied 4-4, Gabby Schuck and Sadie Hammond stormed back to claim a victory on Court 2, 6-4, to even things up. The doubles point came down to Court 1, where Ariadna Riley and Kaitlin Staines clinched the early advantage in a tightly contested match, 7-6 (6), against the 67th-ranked duo in the country.
Hammond got things rolling for Tennessee in singles play, as she gave the Lady Vols their second point of the match with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Alizee Michaud on Court 1. Auburn took the next two courts to finish to even the score at 2-2.
The Tigers' momentum was stymied when Staines staged a comeback on Court 4 for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Andie Dikosavljevic. Johanna Silva clinched the match for the Big Orange, outlasting Georgie Axon in a tiebreaker, 6-3, 7-6 (1).
"It's an amazing feeling because we had only lost before," said Silva. "It was really time that we won. Every time it was super close. This time we finally won, and all the work paid off. We are really happy."
UT stays home, playing Alabama (noon) and Western Kentucky (5 p.m.) in a doubleheader on Saturday. For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee women's tennis program, follow @Vol_WTennis on Twitter.
#38 Tennessee 4, #15 Auburn 2
Singles
1. Sadie Hammond (UT) def. Alizee Michaud (AU) 6-1, 6-4
2. #79 Jaeda Daniel (AUBURN) def. Elizabeth Profit (UT) 6-1, 6-3
3. Ariadna Riley (UT) vs. Madeline Meredith (AU) 7-5, 5-3, unfinished
4. Kaitlin Staines (UT) def. Andie Dikosavljevic (AU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Taylor Russo (AU) def. Gabby Schuck (UT) 6-2, 6-4
6. Johanna Silva (UT) def. Georgie Axon (AU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
Doubles
1. Ariadna Riley/Kaitlin Staines (UT) def. #67 Alizee Michaud/Taylor Russo (AU) 7-6 (8-6)
2. Sadie Hammond/Gabby Schuck (UT) def. Georgie Axon/Caroline Turner (AU) 6-4
3. Jaeda Daniel/Madeline Meredith (AU) def. Chelsea Sawyer/Elizabeth Profit (UT) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,2,5,4,6)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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