University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Arkansas
Mertena’s Clutch Finish Pushes Lady Vols Past Arkansas, 4-3
April 01, 2022 | Women's Tennis
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Coming down to the final court of singles, Rebeka Mertena secured a clutch three-set win to lift Tennessee over Arkansas, 4-3, Friday afternoon at Billingsley Tennis Center.
Mertena cruised early, claiming the first set 6-0. She was able to continue that run early in the second, jumping out to a 3-0 lead, but Arkansas' No. 1 player, Tatum Rice, countered with a run of her own, six of the next seven games to win the frame, 6-4. The duo fought for every point in the third set, as neither side led by more than a game, that was until Mertena broke to win.
Tied at 4-4 in the third, Mertena held serve at deuce to put the pressure on Rice. With a focus on getting balls in the court, the senior forced the Razorback to either make the error or win the point. The consistent pressure was enough to win, as at match point, Rice's forehand went long and the Lady Volunteers claimed their fourth and final point of the day.
"The difference between a win like this and some of the other matches we played is, the application of what we talk about every day was very good today," associate head coach Jarryd Chaplin said after the match. "The execution could have been better, but I felt like we were moving as a unit today, which was nice."
A strong doubles performance kicked off the day of action for Tennessee. Mertena and Esther Adeshina picked up the first victory in doubles, putting down a 6-3 score on Court 2. Arkansas then took Court 3, so it all came down to Tenika McGiffin and Daria Kuczer. The 13th-ranked duo and Razorback opposition each held serve for the first 10 games of the match. With it all knotted at 5-5, UT earned a break and then finished the job at the service line. The Big Orange clinched the doubles point, winning on Court 1, 7-5.
Daria Kuczer had a tremendous day on the singles court. She owned her match on Court 5, defeating Morgan Cross, 6-0, 6-2.
Elza Tomase took the other singles match for the Lady Vols in straight-sets on Court 3. It came down to a tiebreak, but after owning the first set, 6-1, she was in the driver's seat for a second-stanza dual. In the tiebreak, both individuals went on small runs of their own, taking three points at a time. Tomase fended off set-point, trailing 5-6 in the tiebreak. She then parlayed the momentum from that to a match winner two points later, taking the set 7-6(6) to give Tennessee its third point of the day.
Mertena sealed the job and has now won her last three matches on Court 1.
"(Tatum Rice) played a lot better in that second and third set," Mertena said after the match. "I knew that I needed to step up my game and I did what I do best. I just getting every ball in the court and running side-to-side"
Full results from this afternoon's victory can be found below.
UP NEXT
Tennessee heads north to Columbia, Missouri as the Lady Vols take on the Tigers at 10 a.m. ET, 9 a.m. local time, on Sunday, April 3, at the Mizzou Tennis Center.
WINDICATORS
Keeping with the trends of the season, Tennessee improved its overall record to 10-0 when winning or going unfinished on Court 3. Similarly, UT pushed its record to 8-0 when getting a victory on Court 1 in doubles.
REBEKA FOR 20
Rebeka Mertena earned her 20th victory of the 2021-22 season Friday afternoon, her third year on Rocky Top reaching 20 wins. The only season she did not hit 20 was the year cut short by the COVID-19 Global Health Crisis.
#29 Tennessee 4, #32 Arkansas 3
Singles
1. #44 Rebeka Mertena (TENN) def. Tatum Rice (ARKW) 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
2. Kelly Keller (ARKW) def. #37 Tenika McGiffin (TENN) 6-3, 6-3
3. #88 Elza Tomase (TENN) def. Indianna Spink (ARKW) 6-1, 7-6 (7-6)
4. Lenka Stara (ARKW) def. Esther Adeshina (TENN) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
5. Daria Kuczer (TENN) def. Morgan Cross (ARKW) 6-2, 6-0
6. Laura Rijkers (ARKW) def. Eleonora Molinaro (TENN) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 5,2,3,6,4,1
Doubles
1. #13 Daria Kuczer/Tenika McGiffin (TENN) def. #53 Tatum Rice/Morgan Cross (ARKW) 7-5
2. Rebeka Mertena/Esther Adeshina (TENN) def. Laura Rijkers/Lenka Stara (ARKW) 6-3
3. Indianna Spink/Kelly Keller (ARKW) def. Elza Tomase/Kylie Duckworth (TENN) 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,2,3,6,4,1
Players Mentioned
