Lady Vols Open SEC Tournament with Dominant Win Over Mississippi State

Tuesday, April 20

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

1 p.m. ET

University of Tennessee

Mississippi State

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2021.03.07 - Tennessee vs. Florida

Photo by: Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

Lady Vols Open SEC Tournament with Dominant Win Over Mississippi State

April 20, 2021 | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Ricky Martinez

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 15-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team opened the SEC Women's Tennis Tournament in dominant fashion, blanking Mississippi State 4-0.

UT (15-7) opened the match strong over the Bulldogs (11-12), claiming the doubles point with wins on courts two and three.

The No. 27-ranked pair of Daria Kuczer and Esther Adeshina picked up the first win of the day with a 6-3 triumph over Emma Antonaki and Marta Falceto on court two. The win moves the pair to 11-9 this season.

On court three, junior Rebeka Mertena and sophomore Carly Briggs clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 victory over Chloe Cirotte and Alexandra Mikhailuk. The duo picked up their third win as a pair this season.

On court one, senior Tenika McGiffin and freshman Eleonora Molinaro were tied at 5-5 with Tamara Racine and Magda Adaloglou when the point was clinched.

In singles play, UT picked up wins on courts five, four and three to take the dual.

McGiffin opened singles scoring with a straight-set win (6-1, 6-1) over Mikhailuk on court four to collect her 20th win of the season. The Brisbane, Australia product moves to an impressive 15-4 in dual-match play this season.

On court four moments after McGiffin sealed her win, Kuczer added a point to the team total with a straight-set victory of her own. The junior downed Lillian Poling 6-1, 6-3 to give UT a 3-0 advantage. Kuczer moves to an astounding 18-1 in dual-match play in her debut season for the Big Orange.

Briggs clinched the match with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Racine on court three to give the final margin of victory. The sophomore collected her sixth win in dual-matych play and 27th career win on Rocky Top.

Up next, the Lady Vols face No. 4-seed LSU at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

#15 Tennessee 4, #39 Mississippi State 0
2021 SEC Championship – Second Round
April 20, 2021
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Alabama Tennis Stadium

Doubles
1. #18 Magda Adaloglou/Tamara Racine (MSU) vs. Tenika McGiffin/Eleonora Molinaro (UT) 5-5, susp.
2. #27 Esther Adeshina/Daria Kuczer (UT) def. Emma Antonaki/Marta Falceto (MSU) 6-3
3. Carly Briggs/Rebeka Mertena (UT) def. Chloé Cirotte/Alexandra Mikhailuk (MSU) 6-4
Order of finish: 2,3

Singles
1. #75 Rebeka Mertena (UT) vs. #27 Emma Antonaki (MSU) 6-3, 6-6(3-0), susp.
2. Magda Adaloglou (MSU) vs. #83 Eleonora Molinaro (UT) 6-3, 4-6, susp.
3. #56 Carly Briggs (UT) def. Tamara Racine (MSU) 7-5, 6-2
4. Daria Kuczer (UT) def. Lilian Poling (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Chloé Cirotte (MSU) vs. Johanna Silva (UT) 0-6, 6-3, 2-0, susp.
Order of finish: 5,4,3

FOLLOW THE LADY VOLS!
Fans can keep up with the latest Tennessee women's tennis news by following the program on its Facebook (Facebook.com/TennesseeWomensTennis), Twitter (@Vol_WTennis) and Instagram (Vol_WTennis) accounts.