Lady Vols Fall to No. 10 Virginia, 4-1

Saturday, January 23

Columbus, Ohio

Noon ET

University of Tennessee

Virginia

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2021.01.18 - Tennessee vs. Furman

Photo by: Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics

January 23, 2021 | Women's Tennis

Box Score Results

By: Ricky Martinez

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee women's tennis team fell in the opening round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend to No. 10-ranked Virginia, 4-1.

"Virginia is a good team and they showed us why," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "We stepped up and played better in doubles but they came out, competed and performed at a high level in all six singles matches. We still put ourselves in a position to win the match, but they were better today."

UT (3-1) got off to a fast start, collecting their fourth-straight doubles point of the 2021 dual match season over UVA (1-0).

UVA took the doubles match on court three 6-1 to open doubles play.

The pair of senior Tenika McGiffin and sophomore Carly Briggs earned the first doubles win for the Big Orange, downing Natasha Subhash and Vivian Glozman 6-4 on court one.

With the doubles matches split, junior Daria Kuczer and freshman Esther Adeshina battled to decide the doubles point. Kuczer and Adeshina took their match 7-6 (7-4) over Rosie Johanson and Emma Navarro to give UT a 1-0 lead.

In singles play, UVA picked up wins on courts one, two, three and six. The Lady Vols put up a fight, forcing third sets on four courts.

UVA earned a pair of straight-set victories on courts two then six to give them a 2-1 lead in the dual.

No. 118-ranked Briggs forced a third set but fell to No. 80-ranked Emma Navarro 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 on court one.

No. 52-ranked junior Rebeka Mertena battled on court three, but No. 47-ranked Rosie Johanson clinched the dual with a 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 win.

McGiffin and Kuczer both forced third sets on courts four and five, respectively, as the match was clinched.

Up next, the Lady Vols take on Syracuse tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET in Columbus, Ohio.

#10 Virginia 4, University of Tennessee 1
Singles competition
1. #80 Emma Navarro (UVA) def. #118 Carly Briggs (UT) 6-4, 5-7, 6-0
2. #11 Natasha Subhash (UVA) def. #85 Johanna Silva (UT) 6-1, 6-2
3. #47 Rosie Johanson (UVA) def. #52 Rebeka Mertena (UT) 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
4. Hibah Shaikh (UVA) vs. Tenika McGiffin (UT) 6-4, 4-6, 2-2, unfinished
5. #104 Amber O'Dell (UVA) vs. Daria Kuczer (UT) 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), unfinished
6. Vivian Glozman (UVA) def. Callie Creath (UT) 7-5, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Tenika McGiffin/Carly Briggs (UT) def. Natasha Subhash/Vivian Glozman (UVA) 6-4
2. Daria Kuczer/Esther Adeshina (UT) def. Rosie Johanson/Emma Navarro (UVA) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Amber O'Dell/Hibah Shaikh (UVA) def. Julie Ball/Rebeka Mertena (UT) 6-1

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