Singles Pushes No. 25 Tennessee Past No. 16 Wake Forest, 5-2

Sunday, January 31

Knoxville, Tenn.

11 a.m. ET/ NO SPECTATORS PERMITTED

University of Tennessee

Wake Forest

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2021.01.18 - Tennessee vs. Furman

Photo by: Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics

Singles Pushes No. 25 Tennessee Past No. 16 Wake Forest, 5-2

January 31, 2021 | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Ricky Martinez

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Dominant singles play pushed the No. 16-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team past No. 16-ranked Wake Forest, 5-2.

"I am incredibly proud of this team," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "Wake Forest is a very well-coached team; you know that they are always going to give 100-percent every time they come out and compete. That is what they did today and in order for us to walk away with the win, we had to do the exact same thing. With that said; we had to actually play to win the match. I think that is going to be a big breakthrough for the team moving forward for the rest of the season. Having the mindset of playing to win, not just staying in something."

Wake Forest (2-2) got off to an early lead, claiming the doubles point over the Lady Vols (5-1).

The Deacons earned their first doubles win on court one to open play. The duo of junior Daria Kuczer and freshman Esther Adeshina pushed past Anna Campana and Casie Wooten 6-4 on court two.

Kuczer and Adeshina are undefeated in dual-match play and are riding a seven-match winning streak dating back to Jan. 11.

Wake Forest claimed the doubles point shortly after on court three.

UT claimed five-of-six singles matches over Wake Forest, including a trio of three-set bouts.

Wake Forest opened singles scoring with a straight-set win on court three to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Sophomore Callie Creath collected the first point for the Lady Vols on court six with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Maddie Lynch on court six to move to 5-1 in dual-match play.

Senior Tenika McGiffin tied up the dual with a 6-3, 6-4 dismantling of Peyton Pesavento on court four. The Brisbane, Australia native moves to a perfect 4-0 in dual match play this season.

No. 118-ranked sophomore Carly Briggs tied the match on court one with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-0 triumph over Anna Campana to move to 11-5 record in her second season in Orange.

No. 52-ranked junior Rebeka Mertena clinched the match on court two with a 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 victory over Brooke Killingsworth. The Liepaja, Latvia native moves to 5-1 in the 2021 dual match season.

Kuczer closed out the match at 5-2 with a three-set battle on court five. The junior downed Casie Wooten 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (9-7) to earn her fifth-straight win this season.

Up next the Lady Vols travel to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on NC State on Feb. 13.

#25 University of Tennessee 5, #16 Wake Forest 2
Singles competition
1. #118 Carly Briggs (UT) def. #21 Anna Campana (WF) 1-6, 7-5, 6-0
2. #52 Rebeka Mertena (UT) def. Brooke Killingsworth (WF) 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4
3. Anna Brylin (WF) def. #85 Johanna Silva (UT) 7-5, 6-0
4. Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Peyton Pesavento (WF) 6-3, 6-4
5. Daria Kuczer (UT) def. Casie Wooten (WF) 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (9-7)
6. Callie Creath (UT) def. Maddie Lynch (WF) 6-0, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. Anna Brylin/Brooke Killingsworth (WF) def. Tenika McGiffin/Johanna Silva (UT) 6-2
2. Daria Kuczer/Esther Adeshina (UT) def. Anna Campana/Casie Wooten (WF) 6-4
3. Peyton Pesavento/Mia Ahmad (WF) def. Carly Briggs/Rebeka Mertena (UT) 7-6 (7-4)

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