Five Singles Wins Cap Final Day of Tennessee Fall Invitational

KNOXVILLE – On the final day of the weekend event, the Tennessee women's tennis team finished off singles play with five victories in seven matches. For the weekend, the Lady Vols earned 25 victories between singles and doubles. All five teams in the event were finished the 2021 campaign in the top 35 as a team.

"Having competed against some really good teams this weekend, I can say without a doubt, we have improved wholly as tennis players," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "These teams here were able to exploit a couple of areas that we still need to work on. That I love. You've got good teams in Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Illinois. You have some players that could exploit those areas, but we can go back and go over film in this next week before we go into the offseason. We can make some adjustments and be ready to go for the spring."

Daria Kuczer finished off an undefeated weekend of singles tennis, taking down Vanderbilt's Holly Staff 6-4, 7-6(4). The senior only dropped one set on individual play and showed a lot of grit and determination, playing in back-and-forth battles throughout the tournament.

"I loved what I saw from Daria this weekend," Ojeda said. "Last weekend I felt that she was a little forced at regionals, this weekend, she just played free. She played against some really good opponents and she dominated matches. Credit to her for allowing that to happen organizally."

Another Lady Vol who snagged a victory this afternoon was Tenika McGiffin. She bested Anessa Lee, 7-5, 6-3 en route to her third singles win of the weekend. The senior wrapped up her fall campaign with one singles tournament win and got into a rhythm late in the fall, she is primed for a strong spring to cap her terrific Tennessee career.

"She is playing very tough matches, as a coach, what you want to see out of your veterans is that they come out and they can just take care of business," Ojeda continued on McGiffin. "They understand how to motivate themselves, they understand what the game calls for at a given moment, and she did that all weekend. It's been really fantastic watching her develop."

Elza Tomase grabbed three singles wins in three tries this weekend. She took down Marcella Cruz, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Her season continues on for another week as she and Rebeka Mertena travel to San Diego, California, for the for the ITA Fall Nationals later this week.

Eleonora Molinaro and Esther Adeshina grabbed the final two victories of the day for the Lady Vols. Molinaro polished off a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory and marked the weekend with incredible determination and a never-give-up attitude that netted her three wins in four matches. Adedshina took down Dasha Kourkina , 6-4, 6-1 in the first win of the day. She jumpstarted the energy for UT and is primed for a breakout spring after a successful and developmental fall season.

Tennessee will take to the road for the final tournament of the season as Mertena and Tomase qualified for the ITA Fall Nationals. Full results from this weekend's action can be found below.

Day One Results
Singles
Elza Tomase(UT) def. Anna Brylin(WF) 6-2, 6-2
Peyton Pesavento(WF) def. Callie Creath(UT) 6-1, 6-3
Daria Kuczer(UT) def. Casie Wooten(WF) 7-5, 6-3
Tenika McGiffin(UT) def. Anna Campana(WF) 7-6(4), 6-3
Samantha Martinelli(WF) def. Esther Adeshina(UT) 7-5, 6-7, 7-5
Eleonora Molinaro(UT) def. Brooke Killingsworth(WF) 7-6(6), 1-6, 7-6(5)

Doubles
Daria Kuczer/Eleonora Molinaro(UT) def. Emily Casati/Kida Ferrari(ILL) 6-0
Tenika McGiffin/Olivia Symons(UT) def. Susie Frazier/Ashley Yeah(ILL) 6-3
Elza Tomase/Esther Adeshina(UT) def. Kate Duong/Kasia Tieber(ILL) 7-5

Day Two Results
Doubles
Tenika McGiffin/Olivia Symons(UT) def. Florencia Urrutia/Carlota Molina (UK), 6-4
Elza Tomase/Esther Adeshina(UT) def. Carla Girbau /Ellie Eades (UK), 6-2
Daria Kuczer/Eleonora Molinaro(UT) def. Fiona Arrese/Lidia Gonzalez (UK), 6-1

Holly Staff/Marcella Cruz (VU) def. Tenika McGiffin/Olivia Symons (UT), 6-4
Esther Adeshina/ Elza Tomase (UT) def. Amy Stevens/Yufei Long (VU), 6-2
Dasha Kourkina/MaryAnn Rompf (VU) def. Daria Kuczer/Eleonora Molinaro (UT), 6-4

Day Three Results
Singles
Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Kate Duong (ILL), 7-6(3), 6-3
Daria Kuczer (UT) def. Ashley Yeah (ILL) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
Josie Frazier (ILL) def. Esther Adeshina (UT), 6-3, 6-3
Kasia Treiber (ILL) def. Eleonora Molinaro (UT), 7-6, 1-6, 6-2
Kida Ferrari (ILL) def. Callie Creath (UT), 0-6, 7-5, 6-3
Shivani Ingle (ILL) def. Kylie Duckworth (UT), 6-1, 6-2

Carlota Molina (UK) def. Tenika McGiffin (UT) 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-5
Daria Kuczer (UT) def. Fiona Arrese (UK), 6-1, 6-1
Elza Tomase (UT) def. Carla Girbau (UK), 6-1, 6-3
Eleonora Molinaro (UT) def. Florencia Urrutia (UK), 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4
Callie Creath (UT) def. Lidia Gonzalez (UK), 6-1, 7-5

Doubles
Tenika McGiffin/Olivia Symons (UT) def. Samantha Martinelli/Casie Wooten (WF), 6-4
Elza Tomase/Esther Adeshina (UT) def. #38 Anna Campana Carolyn Campana (WF), 6-4
Eleonora Molinaro/Daria Kuczer (UT) def. Anna Brylin/Peyton Pesavento (WF), 6-3
Saby Nihalani/Maddie Lynch (WF) def. Kylie Duckworth/Callie Creath (UT), 7-5

Day Four Results
Singles
Esther Adeshina(UT) def. Dasha Kourkina(VU) 6-4, 6-1
Tenika McGiffin(UT) def. Anessa Lee(VU) 7-5, 6-3
Daria Kuczer(UT) def. Holly Staff(VU) 6-4, 7-6(4)
Elza Tomase(UT) def. Marcella Cruz(VU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Eleonora Molinaro(UT) def. Amy Stevens(VU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
MaryAnn Rompf(VU) def. Callie Creath(UT) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(2)
Yufei Long(VU) def. Kylie Duckworth(UT) 7-5, 7-6(5)

University of Tennessee Athletics

Five Singles Wins Cap Final Day of Tennessee Fall Invitational

Players Mentioned

Esther Adeshina

Callie Creath

Kylie Duckworth

Daria Kuczer

Tenika McGiffin

Rebeka Mertena

Eleonora Molinaro

Olivia Symons

Elza Tomase

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