No. 29 Lady Vols Complete Perfect Weekend With Doubleheader Sweep

Sunday, February 24

Knoxville, Tenn.

11:00 AM

University of Tennessee

UT Martin

Photo by: Amanda Pruitt/Tennessee Athletics

No. 29 Lady Vols Complete Perfect Weekend With Doubleheader Sweep

February 24, 2019 | Women's Tennis

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 29^th-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team capped off a perfect weekend with a doubleheader sweep of UT Martin and ETSU Sunday at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

The Lady Vols (9-2) defeated UT Martin (0-4) in the first match of the day, 7-0, immediately followed by a 4-0 win over ETSU (5-5). The two wins come a day after Tennessee also defeated Purdue, 7-0.

"It's tough to play a doubleheader," Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. "These teams are good and they come out and play freely.

"They're going to play some of their best tennis against us and it's tough to go out and mentally focus and do what it takes to get on and off the court and then come right back out. So I'm proud of the girls and how they handled today. Overall from start to finish, I think the team did a great job of coming together."

For the seventh and eighth matches in a row, Tennessee won the doubles point.

Against UT Martin, Ariadna Riley and Rebeka Mertena registered a quick 6-0 win at the No. 3 spot over Andrea Plantada and Amelia Campbell. Ninth-ranked Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 win on Court 1.

Against ETSU, Riley and Mertena once again gave Tennessee its first doubles win with a 6-0 victory. For the second time of the day, Hammond and Staines clinched the doubles point for Tennessee at the No. 1 singles spot, this time with a 6-3 win.

Tennessee also swept singles in both matches. Playing at the No. 1 singles spot for the second time this season, Staines gave Tennessee its first singles win against UT Martin with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Adel Jumamukhambetova.

Tenika McGiffin followed with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Plantada at the No. 4 spot, and Mertena clinched the match for Tennessee with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Daphne Pratt on Court 3.

Riley, Haumuller and Kylie Duckworth each followed with wins for Tennessee to cap off the match. Riley, competing at the No. 2 singles spot for the second time this season, defeated Jemima Potter, 6-0, 7-5. Haumuller and Duckworth registered identical 7-6 (3), 6-1 wins on Courts 5 and 6.

Tennessee's match against ETSU was played as a clinch match, as the Lady Vols recorded wins at the No. 4, 5 and 6 singles spots.

Mertena defeated ETSU's Raquel Amaro at the No. 4 spot, 6-1, 6-2, her second singles win of the day and fourth win overall. McGiffin also recorded her second singles win of the day with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Yunuen Elizarraras.

Haumuller clinched the match for Tennessee against Yi Chi Ma, 6-1, 6-2. The freshman has won 11 of her 13 singles matches since arriving to Knoxville just before the start of the season.

Up Next: The Lady Vols are home for another dubleheader next Saturday against No. 1 Georgia and in-state foe Chattanooga. The SEC opener against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 12 p.m., while the match against the Mocs is set for 4 p.m.

QUOTES

Tenika McGiffin

On capturing two wins to close out the weekend:
"It was great to be out here with the team and compete with each other. I think we all improved and gave each other energy throughout the two matches."

On starting SEC play next weekend:
"The SEC gives us hard matches every weekend, so I'm really excited about that. Our team has grown so much just over the first half of the spring, so I'm really excited to see where we go and how we use each and build on each other of the course of the season."

RESULTS
No. 29 Tennessee 7, UT Martin 0

Singles
1. Kaitlin Staines (UT) def. Adel Jumamukhambetova (UTM), 6-0, 6-4
2. Ariadna Riley (UT) def. Jemima Potter (UTM), 6-0, 7-5
3. Rebeka Mertena (UT) def. Daphne Pratt (UTM), 6-2, 6-2
4. Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Andrea Plantada (UTM), 6-2, 6-2
5. Maia Haumuller (UT) def. Mizuki Sakurai (UTM), 7-6 (3), 6-1
6. Kylie Duckworth (UT) def. Jule Streif (UTM), 7-6 (3), 6-1

Doubles
1. #9 Hammond/Staines (UT) def. Potter/Jumamukhambetova (UTM), 6-1
2. Haumuller/McGiffin (UT) vs. Sakurai/Pratt (UTM), 3-3, unfinished
3. Riley/Mertena (UT) def. Plantada/Campbell (UTM), 6-0

Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1); Singles (1, 4, 3, 2, 5, 6)

No. 29 Tennessee 4, ETSU 0

Singles
1. Sadie Hammond (UT) vs. Laylo Bakhodirova (ETSU), 2-6, 3-4, unfinished
2. Kaitlin Staines (UT) vs. Alejandra Morales (ETSU), 6-7 (5), 4-3, unfinished
3. Ariadna Riley (UT) vs. Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga (ETSU), 6-4, 3-0, unfinished
4. Rebeka Mertena (UT) def. Raquel Amaro (ETSU), 6-1, 6-2
5. Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Yunuen Elizarraras (ETSU), 6-1, 6-3
6. Maia Haumuller (UT) def. Yi Chi Ma (ETSU), 6-1, 6-2

Doubles
1. #9 Hammond/Staines (UT) def. Bakhodirova/Morales (ETSU), 6-3
2. Haumuller/McGiffin (UT) vs. Amaro/Ma (ETSU), 5-4, unfinished
3. Riley/Mertena (UT) def. Pascual-Larrinaga/Elizarraras (ETSU), 6-0

Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1); Singles (4, 5, 6)