Four Lady Vols Earn Spot in End of Fall ITA Rankings

KNOXVILLE – Following a highly successful Fall of individual play, three Lady Volunteer singles and one doubles pairing secured a spot in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, the association announced Wednesday afternoon.

"I'm very proud of how our team improved this Fall in regard to the amount of work, on court, that was put in," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "Our entire team improved, and four ranked players is evidence of that."

Two of the ranked singles are appearing on the chart for the first time and all three are in the top 60.

Rebeka Mertena tops the Tennessee ranked players with the highest ranking of her career, 14^th. The senior picked up three ranked wins in the fall and competed at the two most coveted events, the ITA All-American Championship and the ITA National Fall Championship.

Graduate student Tenika McGiffin earns her first career singles ranking, checking in at No. 41. She boasts a top-5 win and a tournament championship.

Freshman Elza Tomase rounds out the Big Orange members, placing at No. 56. The newcomer led the team in Fall wins with 17 and placed first in singles at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional. She too qualified for the ITA National Fall Championship.

In doubles, the pairing of McGiffin and Olivia Symons is ranked No. 39. The team earned seven wins in the fall and advanced to the ITA Ohio Valley Regional quarterfinals. The month of October was when the Australian duo found its stride, winning six of their eight matches.

"Five months ago, when we had our first team practice, we knew that we had a talented young team," Ojeda continued. "We also knew that in order for us to maximize our talent, we needed to learn how to work at a much more intense rate than what we were showing."

In such a short time, the leaders of the Lady Vols were able to get to work and start finding that potential.

"I know the girls will be excited about the rankings today," Ojeda finished. "But I'm certain that this will only be added fuel to our team's current motivation to produce some big time results this upcoming spring."

The recently announced schedule can be seen here. The Lady Vols make their home debut on Feb. 4, 2022 against NC State.

University of Tennessee | Official Athletics Site

Players Mentioned

Tenika McGiffin

Rebeka Mertena

Olivia Symons

Elza Tomase

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