#20 Lady Vols Down #21 LSU, 4-0, in Furious Singles Attack

Saturday, January 29

Columbus, Ohio

1 PM

University of Tennessee

LSU

#20 Lady Vols Down #21 LSU, 4-0, in Furious Singles Attack

January 29, 2022 | Women's Tennis

Box Score Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Strong singles finished off a less than two-hour match, as the 20^th-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team defeated No. 21 LSU, 4-0, Saturday afternoon at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center on the campus of Ohio State.

"Yesterday, Jarryd Chaplin and I talked with the team and a big question we had was what are some of our non-negotiables," head coach Alison Ojeda said following the win. "To their credit today, on every single court, that's what you saw in singles. In addition, you saw the three players who weren't in the lineup bring that same level of intensity and energy. That's what this is, it's a team effort every single time we go out and compete. I'm proud of our girls for getting the job done today."

It took only an hour and 52 minutes for the Lady Volunteers (3-0) to defeat their first ranked opponent of the season.

Action started with a strong doubles outing from the Lady Vols. Rebeka Mertena and Elza Tomase were the first ones to finish in a dominating, 6-0, win over Maggie Cubitt and Nina Geissler. Daria Kuczer and Tenika McGiffin continued their winning ways, defeating their third ranked opponent, 6-3. In four completed matches in 2022, McGiffin and Kuczer have topped No. 1, 2 and 25 after the victory over LSU's Taylor Bridges and Ena Babic.

Singles play was a complete performance from the top to the bottom of Tennessee's lineup. Five players won their first set, setting the tone for sustained second-set success. Tomase, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, was the first to clinch, topping No. 92 Babic 6-2, 6-0 on court three.

One minute later, her doubles partner – and No. 14-ranked – Mertena clinched UT's second point, serving to a 6-1, 6-1 victory on court two. The next court over, Kuczer earned her first singles dual win of the season a minute after that, beating Taylor Bridges 6-1, 6-0.

"Looking ahead to tomorrow," Ojeda said on tomorrow's regional final, "we all understand the goal is to qualify for National Indoors. It's been a long time, roughly 10 years since we've been back there. We've got a job to do tomorrow and whether there is a tournament that comes after this or not, the goal is to come out against a very well-coaches Ohio State team – they're going to be unbelievably disciplined and they're going to fight hard. We're excited to go out and compete."

ONLY FIVE???
In the Lady Vols three singles wins, the opponents combined for a mere five games won from the No. 2, 3 and 4 positions.

50^TH MEETING
Tennessee and LSU met for the 50^th time on the courts Saturday. The Lady Vols improved to 31-19 in matchups with the Tigers and are now 6-5 on a neutral court.

40 IN DUALS
Rebeka Mertena earned the 40th dual match win of her career against the Tigers. She is 40-12 (.769) since coming to Rocky Top in 2019.

IN THE WIN COLUMN
Following an incredible 20-win season last year in dual matches, Daria Kuczer earned her first victory of the 2022 campaign.

UP NEXT
Tennessee is back in action against regional host and 11^th-ranked Ohio State at 1 p.m. tomorrow at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. The winner of the match punches their ticket to the 2022 ITA Indoor National Championship in Madison, Wisconsin.

#20 Tennessee 4, #21 LSU 0
Singles
1. #41 Tenika McGiffin (TENN) vs. #54 Safiya Carrington (LSU) 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
2. #14 Rebeka Mertena (TENN) def. Maggie Cubitt (LSU) 6-1, 6-1
3. #56 Elza Tomase (TENN) def. #92 Ena Babic (LSU) 6-2, 6-0
4. Daria Kuczer (TENN) def. Taylor Bridges (LSU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Eleonora Molinaro (TENN) vs. Nina Geissler (LSU) 6-4, 1-2, unfinished
6. Mia Rabinowitz (LSU) vs. Esther Adeshina (TENN) 6-4, 1-2, unfinished

Order of Finish: 3, 2, 4

Doubles competition
1. Tenika McGiffin/Daria Kuczer (TENN) def. #25 Taylor Bridges/Ena Babic (LSU) 6-3
2. Rebeka Mertena/Elza Tomase (TENN) def. Maggie Cubitt/Nina Geissler (LSU) 6-0
3. Esther Adeshina/Eleonora Molinaro (TENN) vs. Safiya Carrington/Rania Azziz (LSU) 5-4, unfinished

Order of Finish: 2,1