University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, April 19
College Station, Texas
3:00 PM
University of Tennessee
at
Texas A&M
WTEN CENTRAL: SEC Tournament
April 18, 2019 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee women's tennis team capped off its winningest SEC season since 2011 by earning the No. 4 seed in this year's SEC Tournament in College Station, Texas.
Tennessee finished the regular season with a 19-6 (9-4 SEC) record. The Lady Vols' 19 regular season wins mark the most since 2003, when UT also had 19 regular season victories.
The Lady Vols also concluded the regular season with a 14-3 home record, the most home wins by a Tennessee team since the 1992 season.
By way of earning a top-four seed, Tennessee was awarded a double-bye and is scheduled to open the SEC Tournament on Friday at approximately 3 p.m. ET against No. 5 seed and 19th-ranked Texas A&M. The Aggies defeated No. 12 seed Mississippi State on Thursday, 4-3.
The Lady Vols defeated then-No. 21 Texas A&M on March 8 in Knoxville, 4-2. Sadie Hammond, Johanna Silva and Rebeka Mertena all registered singles victories during the win after Tennessee won the doubles point.
Tennessee heads into postseason play coming off of its fourth top-25 win of the season, defeating No. 24 Kentucky in the regular season finale, 4-1.
On her Senior Day, Hammond defeated Kentucky's No. 1 singles player and the No. 15 ranked singles player in the nation, Justina Mikuskyte.
The win was Hammond's fourth ranked win of the season and the highest-ranked player she has defeated while at Tennessee.
SERIES HISTORY: Texas A&M holds a narrow 8-7 all-time lead over Tennessee, 4-3 in College Station.
UPDATED RANKINGS: The ITA released its updated rankings on Tuesday and the Lady Vols moved up one spot to No. 17.
In singles, Sadie Hammond achieved her highest ranking of the season, checking in at No. 56 overall. In doubles, Hammond and Kaitlin Staines remained at No. 11.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS: Tennessee freshmen Maia Haumuller and Rebeka Mertena have each had stellar freshman seasons since arriving at UT in January.
Mertena is 18-3 in dual matches and has won 14 of her past 15 completed singles contests while sporting an 9-1 SEC record. Haumuller is 11-4 in singles during dual matches this season and has won eight of her past 10 matches.
SEC COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM: Senior Sadie Hammond was named to the SEC Community Service team for the third consecutive season last week.
The SEC sponsors Community Service Teams in all 21 sports. The award looks to highlight athletes from the SEC who give back to their community in superior service efforts.
RANKED COMPETITION: The Lady Vols' quarterfinal matchup with Texas A&M is slated to feature a total of three ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams, which are listed below.
Singles
No. 54 Katya Townsend (Texas A&M)
No. 56 Sadie Hammond (Tennessee)
No. 69 Jayci Goldsmith (Texas A&M)
Doubles
No. 11 Sadie Hammond/Kaitlin Staines (Tennessee)
No. 32 Jayci Goldsmith/Tatiana Makarova (Texas A&M)
Tennessee finished the regular season with a 19-6 (9-4 SEC) record. The Lady Vols' 19 regular season wins mark the most since 2003, when UT also had 19 regular season victories.
The Lady Vols also concluded the regular season with a 14-3 home record, the most home wins by a Tennessee team since the 1992 season.
By way of earning a top-four seed, Tennessee was awarded a double-bye and is scheduled to open the SEC Tournament on Friday at approximately 3 p.m. ET against No. 5 seed and 19th-ranked Texas A&M. The Aggies defeated No. 12 seed Mississippi State on Thursday, 4-3.
The Lady Vols defeated then-No. 21 Texas A&M on March 8 in Knoxville, 4-2. Sadie Hammond, Johanna Silva and Rebeka Mertena all registered singles victories during the win after Tennessee won the doubles point.
Tennessee heads into postseason play coming off of its fourth top-25 win of the season, defeating No. 24 Kentucky in the regular season finale, 4-1.
On her Senior Day, Hammond defeated Kentucky's No. 1 singles player and the No. 15 ranked singles player in the nation, Justina Mikuskyte.
The win was Hammond's fourth ranked win of the season and the highest-ranked player she has defeated while at Tennessee.
SERIES HISTORY: Texas A&M holds a narrow 8-7 all-time lead over Tennessee, 4-3 in College Station.
UPDATED RANKINGS: The ITA released its updated rankings on Tuesday and the Lady Vols moved up one spot to No. 17.
In singles, Sadie Hammond achieved her highest ranking of the season, checking in at No. 56 overall. In doubles, Hammond and Kaitlin Staines remained at No. 11.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS: Tennessee freshmen Maia Haumuller and Rebeka Mertena have each had stellar freshman seasons since arriving at UT in January.
Mertena is 18-3 in dual matches and has won 14 of her past 15 completed singles contests while sporting an 9-1 SEC record. Haumuller is 11-4 in singles during dual matches this season and has won eight of her past 10 matches.
SEC COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM: Senior Sadie Hammond was named to the SEC Community Service team for the third consecutive season last week.
The SEC sponsors Community Service Teams in all 21 sports. The award looks to highlight athletes from the SEC who give back to their community in superior service efforts.
RANKED COMPETITION: The Lady Vols' quarterfinal matchup with Texas A&M is slated to feature a total of three ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams, which are listed below.
Singles
No. 54 Katya Townsend (Texas A&M)
No. 56 Sadie Hammond (Tennessee)
No. 69 Jayci Goldsmith (Texas A&M)
Doubles
No. 11 Sadie Hammond/Kaitlin Staines (Tennessee)
No. 32 Jayci Goldsmith/Tatiana Makarova (Texas A&M)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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