University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols Headed to Durham for Opening Rounds of NCAA Tourney
May 01, 2018 | Women's Tennis
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – For the 27th time in program history, the Tennessee Lady Vols have been selected to compete in the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships, heading to the Durham region to face the Oregon Ducks in the first round of the tournament.
"I'm very excited for our program to be back in the NCAA tournament again this year, and this is another goal we can say we accomplished," said head coach Alison Ojeda. "Our girls have worked hard to change for the better, and they deserve this opportunity to compete with the countries best. My good friend, Allison Silvervio, is the head coach at Oregon. She's done a fantastic job with that program and I'm looking forward to competing against a very well coached team next week.
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"Coach Rick Barnes said it best, 'The NCAA tournament is a new season. Anything can happen.' What I love most about our team going into the NCAA tournament is the fact that we are very well prepared. We have spent the last 8 weeks competing against our SEC teams, so we are match tough. I believe everybody on our team is playing their best tennis right now, and I'm positive that we will be ready to give our all for Tennessee."
The Vols (18-11) start the 64-team tournament with their first-ever matchup against Oregon (15-9) on May 11 at Duke's Ambler Tennis Stadium. The host and 3rd-seeded Blue Devils (23-3) will face Furman (19-8) in the other contest.
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"It's always an awesome thing to be part of the NCAA tournament," said assistant coach Ty Schaub. "I'm excited for the team to get an opportunity against a good Oregon team. I think it's a team that is super competitive and has had a great year, so I think it will be a fun battle to see who will advance."
Senior Alyssa Tobita and junior Shweta Sangwan lead the way for Oregon, who received an at-large bid out of the Pac-12. The duo is ranked the No. 34 team in the country in the most recent ITA rankings, going 13-6 together this season. They are one of three doubles teams that are ranked for the Ducks.
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Tobita locks down the top spot of the lineups, posting an 18-11 record this year with six ranked wins. She is currently No. 43 in the country for singles. Sangwan holds the No. 2 spot in the lineup, where she went 9-5 during dual-match play and won three ranked matchups.
"We are so excited to be continuing our season into the last tournament of the year," said Sadie Hammond. "We get to play our hearts out for one more time and put everything on the line. This is what we work towards every day, and I couldn't be happier to get the chance to compete with the best schools in the country."
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The winners of the two matches face off in the second round on May 12, and the champion of the four-school region will advance to the final tournament site at Wake Forest.
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"It's an incredible feeling to be back in the tournament and competing again," said Gabby Schuck. "Since we finished up SECs, we have been able to get some really good training and practice in, so it's really exciting to be able to have a chance to go out there and leave it all out there on the line and show all the hard work we have put in."
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Tennessee ended a two-year absence from the tournament last season during Ojeda's first season at the helm. The Lady Vols defeated Big South Champion Winthrop in the opening round, 4-1. UT then fell to host and 15th-seeded Duke in the second round, 4-1, to end the season.
"I'm so excited to be competing in my first NCAA championships with the girls," said Kaitlin Staines. "Over the last couple of weeks, we have really stepped up in training and couldn't be more ready take on some really good teams. It's another opportunity for some great tennis, and I couldn't be happier to be representing Tennessee for the first time in the NCAAs."
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By The Numbers
26: Total NCAA selections since the championships changed to its present-day team format in 1979.
32: Wins Tennessee has enjoyed in the NCAA Championships. UT's all-time record is 31-24.
17: Shutouts by Tennessee in the NCAA tournament, most recently a 4-0 win over VCU in 2013.
9: Times Tennessee has reached the round of 16 or better.
"I'm very excited for our program to be back in the NCAA tournament again this year, and this is another goal we can say we accomplished," said head coach Alison Ojeda. "Our girls have worked hard to change for the better, and they deserve this opportunity to compete with the countries best. My good friend, Allison Silvervio, is the head coach at Oregon. She's done a fantastic job with that program and I'm looking forward to competing against a very well coached team next week.
Â
"Coach Rick Barnes said it best, 'The NCAA tournament is a new season. Anything can happen.' What I love most about our team going into the NCAA tournament is the fact that we are very well prepared. We have spent the last 8 weeks competing against our SEC teams, so we are match tough. I believe everybody on our team is playing their best tennis right now, and I'm positive that we will be ready to give our all for Tennessee."
The Vols (18-11) start the 64-team tournament with their first-ever matchup against Oregon (15-9) on May 11 at Duke's Ambler Tennis Stadium. The host and 3rd-seeded Blue Devils (23-3) will face Furman (19-8) in the other contest.
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"It's always an awesome thing to be part of the NCAA tournament," said assistant coach Ty Schaub. "I'm excited for the team to get an opportunity against a good Oregon team. I think it's a team that is super competitive and has had a great year, so I think it will be a fun battle to see who will advance."
Senior Alyssa Tobita and junior Shweta Sangwan lead the way for Oregon, who received an at-large bid out of the Pac-12. The duo is ranked the No. 34 team in the country in the most recent ITA rankings, going 13-6 together this season. They are one of three doubles teams that are ranked for the Ducks.
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Tobita locks down the top spot of the lineups, posting an 18-11 record this year with six ranked wins. She is currently No. 43 in the country for singles. Sangwan holds the No. 2 spot in the lineup, where she went 9-5 during dual-match play and won three ranked matchups.
"We are so excited to be continuing our season into the last tournament of the year," said Sadie Hammond. "We get to play our hearts out for one more time and put everything on the line. This is what we work towards every day, and I couldn't be happier to get the chance to compete with the best schools in the country."
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The winners of the two matches face off in the second round on May 12, and the champion of the four-school region will advance to the final tournament site at Wake Forest.
  Â
"It's an incredible feeling to be back in the tournament and competing again," said Gabby Schuck. "Since we finished up SECs, we have been able to get some really good training and practice in, so it's really exciting to be able to have a chance to go out there and leave it all out there on the line and show all the hard work we have put in."
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Tennessee ended a two-year absence from the tournament last season during Ojeda's first season at the helm. The Lady Vols defeated Big South Champion Winthrop in the opening round, 4-1. UT then fell to host and 15th-seeded Duke in the second round, 4-1, to end the season.
"I'm so excited to be competing in my first NCAA championships with the girls," said Kaitlin Staines. "Over the last couple of weeks, we have really stepped up in training and couldn't be more ready take on some really good teams. It's another opportunity for some great tennis, and I couldn't be happier to be representing Tennessee for the first time in the NCAAs."
 Â
By The Numbers
26: Total NCAA selections since the championships changed to its present-day team format in 1979.
32: Wins Tennessee has enjoyed in the NCAA Championships. UT's all-time record is 31-24.
17: Shutouts by Tennessee in the NCAA tournament, most recently a 4-0 win over VCU in 2013.
9: Times Tennessee has reached the round of 16 or better.
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