WTEN Central: Lady Vols vs. Purdue/UT Martin/ETSU

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 29^th-ranked Tennessee women's team returns to action this weekend with three home matches.

Tennessee (6-2) takes on Purdue (5-3) at 11 a.m. on Saturday before hosting UT Martin (0-3) and ETSU (5-4) for a doubleheader on Sunday at 11 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. The time for the match against ETSU is subject to change based on the length of the first match of the day.

Tennessee is coming off of two home wins last weekend over Indiana, 5-2, and South Florida, 4-0.

Four Lady Vols received honors and recognition this week for their contributions to Tennessee's wins. Maia Haumuller was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week, while Sadie Hammond, Kaitlin Staines and Johanna Silva were ranked in the ITA's latest rankings release.

Hammond and Staines were ranked as the No. 9 doubles pair, which is a career-high ranking for each player. The No. 9 ranking is also the highest by a Tennessee doubles team since the 2013 season's final rankings, when Kata Szekely and Brynn Boren ranked No. 5 in the nation. That season, Szekely and Boren were named All-Americans.

Silva came in as the No. 121 singles player in the rankings. The Hamburg, Germany native has won 17 of her past 19 singles matches dating back to the fall and possesses a 6-2 record in dual matches this season, primarily coming at Tennessee's No. 3 singles spot.

INSIDE THE SERIES: Tennessee is a combined perfect 34-0 against Purdue, UT Martin and ETSU all-time.

Tennessee is 17-0 all-time against Purdue, including 8-0 in Knoxville. The Lady Vols and Boilermakers last met in 2014 during ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Clemson. The Lady Vols hold a 13-0 advantage over ETSU (8-0 in Knoxville) and a 4-0 series lead over UT Martin.

OPPONENTS IN THE RANKINGS: The Lady Vols will face one ranked singles player this weekend, as Purdue's Silvia Ambrosio is ranked as the No. 17 singles player by the ITA. Ambrosio has risen as high as No. 9 in the rankings this season.

DOUBLES DOMINATION: Tennessee's doubles accomplishments have not been limited to just the success of ninth-ranked duo Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines. As a team, Tennessee has won the doubles point in seven of its eight matches this season.

At the Lady Vols' No. 2 doubles spot, Tenika McGiffin and Maia Haumuller have won four doubles matches in a row.

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Players Mentioned

Sadie Hammond

Maia Haumuller

Tenika McGiffin

Johanna Silva

Kaitlin Staines

University of Tennessee Athletics