WTEN Central: ITA Kick-Off Weekend

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee women's tennis team will participate in ITA Kick-Off Weekend for the first time since 2014 this weekend in Tallahassee, Fla.

The Lady Vols (2-0) will start the event by taking on No. 15 Florida State (3-0) Friday at 4 p.m. The winner of the matchup will face the winner between Clemson (4-0) and LSU (1-0) on Saturday at 3 p.m. A consolation matchup will be played at 6 p.m Saturday.

The winner of the two-day tournament advances to next month's 16-team ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle. There are 15 ITA Kick-Off Weekend qualifying sites in action over the next two days; Washington is automatically in the national field as tournament host.

Tennessee is 8-4 all-time in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend event, and will be looking to advance out of Kick-Off Weekend for the first time since 2012.

After two season-opening victories over North Alabama on Jan. 14, Tennessee traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich. last weekend for the Michigan Invitational. Kaitlin Staines and Sadie Hammond captured the event's doubles title after posting a 3-0 record over the course of the weekend.

As a team, the Lady Vols battled even with ranked teams No. 9 Michigan and No. 13 Georgia Tech in singles and doubles competition.

INSIDE THE SERIES: Tennessee holds an all-time record of 5-4 against Florida State, but have not faced the Seminoles since 2010. Florida State holds a 3-2 advantage in Tallahassee.

Against Clemson, the Lady Vols are 10-7 all-time, with the last matchup coming in 2014. Tennessee has met SEC foe LSU 45 times, holding a 28-17 lead. The series is an even 4-4 at neutral sites.

WINNING STREAKS CONTINUE TO GROW: The Lady Vols have multiple notable ongoing winning streaks entering this weekend.

Johanna Silva has 13 singles matches in a row, dating all the way back to Oct. 13. Freshman Maia Haumuller has won all five of her singles matches in a Tennessee uniform. In doubles, Kaitlin Staines and Sadie Hammond are now a perfect 8-0 when paired together this season.

IN THE RANKINGS: In addition to Tennessee's ranked players – Kaitlin Staines (No. 91 in singles), Ariadna Riley (No. 93 in singles) and Staines/Sadie Hammond (No. 33 in doubles), the ITA Kickoff Weekend features four more ranked singles players and five ranked doubles pairs.

Singles
No. 13 Eden Richardson (LSU)
No. 39 Carla Touly (Florida State)
No. 72 Kennan Johnson (LSU)
No. 91 Kaitlin Staines (Tennessee)
No. 93 Ariadna Riley (Tennessee)
No. 125 Ana Oparenovic (Florida State)

Doubles
No. 3 Fernanda Navarro/Marie Leduc (Clemson)
No. 9 Jessica Golovin/Eden Richardson (LSU)
No. 30 Taylor Bridges/Paris Corley (LSU)
No. 33 Sadie Hammond/Kaitlin Staines (Tennessee)
No. 40 Emmanuelle Salas/Carla Touly (Florida State)
No. 54 Anna Loughlan/Kennan Johnson (LSU)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sadie Hammond

Maia Haumuller

Ariadna Riley

Johanna Silva

Kaitlin Staines

University of Tennessee Athletics