University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Missouri
Late Surge Lifts Lady Vols to 4-0 Sweep At Missouri
April 03, 2022 | Women's Tennis
Tennessee caps 2-0 road weekend
COLUMBIA, Mo. – After earning the doubles point, the 29th-ranked Lady Vols utilized a late charge to clinch a 4-0 sweep of Missouri on Sunday morning and conclude a 2-0 weekend on the road.
Tennessee (11-6, 5-4 SEC) came out and took care of business in doubles. Esther Adeshina and Rebeka Mertena secured the first doubles win on Court 2, 6-4. The duo earned two breaks, including one to win the match.
Elza Tomase and Kylie Duckworth nailed down the clinch on Court 3, 6-4. The pair jumped out early, getting two breaks and holding a 3-0 advantage. Missouri countered with a break, but the Big Orange side coupled big serving and sound volleys to hold serve the rest of the match and secure the opening point.
"I think the doubles point for any college coach is a priority and you get in the right mindset for singles," associate head coach Jarryd Chaplin said. "Just knowing that you've got that one point under your belt is big. When you play good teams like we do week-in and week-out in this conference, it's a critical advantage."
Eleonora Molinaro was simply dominant on Court 6. She powered her way past Romary Cardenas, 6-2, 6-1, in just over an hour and 10 minutes. Her victory set the tone for singles and energized the Big Orange players for the rest of the afternoon.
"In singles, we were a little bit flat in the first 30 minutes," Chaplin continued. "There are always areas you would hope to be better at, and that was one from today. Ele was able to get off the court quickly for us and that creates some pressure for the opposing team. Then points start to accumulate. Once we got to the middle and back-end of our singles, we were much better."
Tenika McGiffin posted the second singles win of the afternoon, 7-5, 6-3, on Court 2. The veteran fell behind early, getting broken twice in the first three games and falling behind 0-3. She countered with two breaks of her own and a hold to tie it at 3-3. McGiffin tallied five breaks total to take the first set. Her second set was marked by a dominating late performance. Mizzou jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the stanza, but the 37th-ranked veteran would not drop another game as she fired off three breaks and two holds in the last five games to pick up Tennessee's third point of the afternoon.
Elza Tomase delivered the match-clinching point for the Lady Vols, winning 7-6(1), 6-2 over Elys Ventura on Court 3. The two players had a point-for-point battle in the opening set. Once it got to the tiebreak, Tomase took over the match and would never look back. The tiebreak was spit at 1-1, but the freshman snagged the last six points. In the second frame, it was sheer domination. Two breaks started the frame, but the Lady Vol took five of the next six games to clinch the match.
"The opponent was strong and in that first set we were fighting for every point," Tomase noted after the match. "I just tried to believe in myself and swing big because that's what I need to do. Also, I just tried to be positive every single point."
"I am very proud of our whole team," head coach Alison Ojeda added after the match. "We challenged Daria and Elza a couple of weeks ago and they have since stepped up big time."
Had the match been played out, the Lady Vols were in what could have been the final game on Court 1 and 5. Mertena was serving at 5-2 in the third set. Daria Kuczer had also just taken a 5-3 lead in the second set after winning the first, 6-3.
"I'm really proud of Jarryd for all his did this weekend," Ojeda continued. "We also are so thankful and grateful for Ben Rogers and Amanda Chaplin stepping in to help this weekend!"
Full results can be found below.
UP NEXT
Tennessee returns to Rocky Top for All Vol Weekend and will close out its 2022 home schedule. The Lady Vols host Vanderbilt on Friday, April 15 at noon. UT then welcomes Kentucky on Sunday, April 17, for Senior Day as the Big Orange honor its three outstanding seniors (Callie Creath, Kylie Duckworth, Tenika McGiffin) for their contributions to the program.
SUNDAY, FUN-DAY
Tennessee recorded its sixth victory of the season on a Sunday. The Lady Vols have their best record of any day on Sunday, at 6-2.
30 FOR OJEDA
Head coach Alison Ojeda won her 30th SEC conference match in Sunday's win.
WINDICATORS
Keeping with the trends of the season, Tennessee improved its overall record to 11-0 when winning or going unfinished on Court 3 in singles.
ELE TO THE 20 CLUB
Sophomore Eleonora Molinaro collected her 20th singles victory of the season. She joins Elza Tomase (24) and Rebeka Mertena (20) as Tennessee players with 20 individual victories this season.
#29 Tennessee 4, Mizzou 0
Singles
1. #44 Rebeka Mertena (TENN) vs. Bronte Murgett (MIZ) 1-6, 6-2, 5-2, unfinished
2. #37 Tenika McGiffin (TENN) def. Ellie Wright (MIZ) 7-5, 6-3
3. #88 Elza Tomase (TENN) def. Elys Ventura (MIZ) 7-6 (7-1), 6-2
4. Emelie Schwarte (MIZ) vs. Esther Adeshina (TENN) 5-7, 6-3, 2-2, unfinished
5. Daria Kuczer (TENN) vs. Gabriela Martinez (MIZ) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
6. Eleonora Molinaro (TENN) def. Romary Cardenas (MIZ) 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6,2,3
Doubles
1. #13 Daria Kuczer/Tenika McGiffin (TENN) vs. Bronte Murgett/Gabriela Martinez (MIZ) 5-4, unfinished
2. Rebeka Mertena/Esther Adeshina (TENN) def. Emelie Schwarte/Elys Ventura (MIZ) 6-4
3. Elza Tomase/Kylie Duckworth (TENN) def. Ellie Wright/Romary Cardenas (MIZ) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,3
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
6,2,3
Players Mentioned
