University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, February 17
Knoxville, TN
10 AM
University of Tennessee
vs
Charlotte
Women’s Tennis Central: #24 Tennessee vs. Charlotte, Bellarmine and #19 UCF
February 16, 2023 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Following a week off, the 24th-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team is back in action on Rocky Top as it hosts Charlotte and Bellarmine on Friday before taking on No. 19 UCF on Sunday.
A total of three matches will be played on Friday at Goodfriend Tennis Center. The day will commence with the Lady Volunteers (4-2) taking on Charlotte (6-3) at 10 a.m., followed by Charlotte vs. Bellarmine (3-7) at 1:30 p.m. Action will conclude with UT taking on Bellarmine at 4:30 p.m. All times are tentative and subject to change based on match length. Updates on Friday's timing will be communicated via the team's official Twitter account, @Vol_WTennis.
Sunday, the Lady Vols host 19th-ranked UCF for its final non-conference match of the season and its first ranked opponent at home. Serves go up at noon ET either inside Goodfriend Tennis Center, or outside at Barksdale Stadium, depending on weather.
On Friday, free candy will be available for the first 100 fans in attendance, while on Sunday the first 50 fans through the gates will receive a free coffee mug and the first 100 fans will get a burrito, courtesy of Moe's.
All matches will be available to stream via Playsight by clicking HERE. Further, fans can view live scoring by clicking HERE.
RANKINGS REFRESH
The first individual rankings of the 2023 spring season were released a week ago with three Lady Vols on the singles charts, including two inside the top 40.
Rebeka Mertena highlights the list, checking in at No. 24. The fifth-year senior currently leads the squad in total singles wins with 15 this year. She has amassed a perfect 5-0 record when playing at No. 1 and has three wins over top-30 players since the start of 2023.
Daria Kuczer holds the No. 38 position on the ITA singles charts, her highest ever singles ranking. Kuczer has been on fire to start dual season, riding a five-match win streak entering play on Friday. She comes into the weekend off a straight set win over No. 25 Abigail Rencheli at NC State, where she toppled the Wolfpack junior, 7-5, 6-2.
Elza Tomase rounds out the ranked Lady Vols, positioning herself at No. 65. The talented sophomore has collected two ranked wins since the start of the calendar year and has played at No. 2 or No. 1 in duals this season after spending her freshman year in the No. 3 position.
HEAD COACH ALISON OJEDA
"We are very excited to host three teams this weekend on Rocky Top. Charlotte is a very good team, well coached, and they compete very hard on the courts. Bellarmine, on the other hand, is a program head coach Brian Slack is working hard at making better. Both will be a great test for us before we host a top-20 team in UCF on Sunday."
"Any weekend away from our home crowd is a weekend too long for us. We are excited to compete in front of our fans, including the 160 club tennis members, the 100-plus kids we had come out to the Little Smokey's event we had earlier this week, our faculty that come out to use the facility at their lunch time and all our Rocky Top tennis fans. Come cheer us on this weekend, our Lady Vols will make you proud!"
SCOUTING THE 49ERS
Charlotte enters the weekend with a 6-3 record and it has won its last three matches. The 49ers are coming off a three-match homestand, capped off by a 4-3 victory over Virginia Tech last Saturday. The 49ers and Lady Vols share one common opponent thus far, Wake Forest, who UT defeated 4-0 at ITA Kickoff Weekend. Charlotte, on the other hand, dropped its match to the Demon Deacons, 4-3, on the road.
SCOUTING THE BELLARMINE KNIGHTS
Bellarmine is in its third season of Division I competition as a program and already has its most single-season victories as a Division I team. The Knights travel to Rocky Top off of a pair of wins last Saturday as they took down Marian and Southern Indiana both by a score of 7-0. Bellarmine's third victory came on a neutral court when it defeated Northern Illinois, 4-3, at Louisville on Jan. 20.
SCOUTING THE UCF GOLDEN KNIGHTS
UCF marks the third top-25 team Tennessee has faced in non-conference play. The Golden Knights checked in at No. 19 in the most recent ITA Team Rankings, but do not have any players ranked in the ITA Individual Rankings.
UCF currently holds a 4-1 record, with its only loss coming to No. 15 Auburn in the ITA Kickoff Weekend finals, 4-1. The Golden Knights do own a top-25 win, having bested No. 19 Arizona State, 4-2, on Jan. 28.
Before making the trip to Rocky Top, UCF will take on Vanderbilt Friday in Nashville.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Tennessee played both Charlotte and Bellarmine for the first time a season ago and lead the all-time series against those schools, 1-0 and 2-0, respectively.
The Lady Vols lead UCF in the all-time series, 3-0, and it is the first meeting between the two sides in Knoxville. UT last faced the Golden Knights in 2012 in Orlando. Also of note, UCF has never claimed as much as a point against the Lady Vols. Tennessee has defeated UCF by margins of 9-0 (1982), 7-0 (2009) and 7-0 (2012) in those three meetings.
For all the latest information from Lady Vol Tennis, follow the team on Twitter @Vol_WTennis, Instagram @vol_wtennis or Facebook.
A total of three matches will be played on Friday at Goodfriend Tennis Center. The day will commence with the Lady Volunteers (4-2) taking on Charlotte (6-3) at 10 a.m., followed by Charlotte vs. Bellarmine (3-7) at 1:30 p.m. Action will conclude with UT taking on Bellarmine at 4:30 p.m. All times are tentative and subject to change based on match length. Updates on Friday's timing will be communicated via the team's official Twitter account, @Vol_WTennis.
Sunday, the Lady Vols host 19th-ranked UCF for its final non-conference match of the season and its first ranked opponent at home. Serves go up at noon ET either inside Goodfriend Tennis Center, or outside at Barksdale Stadium, depending on weather.
On Friday, free candy will be available for the first 100 fans in attendance, while on Sunday the first 50 fans through the gates will receive a free coffee mug and the first 100 fans will get a burrito, courtesy of Moe's.
All matches will be available to stream via Playsight by clicking HERE. Further, fans can view live scoring by clicking HERE.
RANKINGS REFRESH
The first individual rankings of the 2023 spring season were released a week ago with three Lady Vols on the singles charts, including two inside the top 40.
Rebeka Mertena highlights the list, checking in at No. 24. The fifth-year senior currently leads the squad in total singles wins with 15 this year. She has amassed a perfect 5-0 record when playing at No. 1 and has three wins over top-30 players since the start of 2023.
Daria Kuczer holds the No. 38 position on the ITA singles charts, her highest ever singles ranking. Kuczer has been on fire to start dual season, riding a five-match win streak entering play on Friday. She comes into the weekend off a straight set win over No. 25 Abigail Rencheli at NC State, where she toppled the Wolfpack junior, 7-5, 6-2.
Elza Tomase rounds out the ranked Lady Vols, positioning herself at No. 65. The talented sophomore has collected two ranked wins since the start of the calendar year and has played at No. 2 or No. 1 in duals this season after spending her freshman year in the No. 3 position.
HEAD COACH ALISON OJEDA
"We are very excited to host three teams this weekend on Rocky Top. Charlotte is a very good team, well coached, and they compete very hard on the courts. Bellarmine, on the other hand, is a program head coach Brian Slack is working hard at making better. Both will be a great test for us before we host a top-20 team in UCF on Sunday."
"Any weekend away from our home crowd is a weekend too long for us. We are excited to compete in front of our fans, including the 160 club tennis members, the 100-plus kids we had come out to the Little Smokey's event we had earlier this week, our faculty that come out to use the facility at their lunch time and all our Rocky Top tennis fans. Come cheer us on this weekend, our Lady Vols will make you proud!"
SCOUTING THE 49ERS
Charlotte enters the weekend with a 6-3 record and it has won its last three matches. The 49ers are coming off a three-match homestand, capped off by a 4-3 victory over Virginia Tech last Saturday. The 49ers and Lady Vols share one common opponent thus far, Wake Forest, who UT defeated 4-0 at ITA Kickoff Weekend. Charlotte, on the other hand, dropped its match to the Demon Deacons, 4-3, on the road.
SCOUTING THE BELLARMINE KNIGHTS
Bellarmine is in its third season of Division I competition as a program and already has its most single-season victories as a Division I team. The Knights travel to Rocky Top off of a pair of wins last Saturday as they took down Marian and Southern Indiana both by a score of 7-0. Bellarmine's third victory came on a neutral court when it defeated Northern Illinois, 4-3, at Louisville on Jan. 20.
SCOUTING THE UCF GOLDEN KNIGHTS
UCF marks the third top-25 team Tennessee has faced in non-conference play. The Golden Knights checked in at No. 19 in the most recent ITA Team Rankings, but do not have any players ranked in the ITA Individual Rankings.
UCF currently holds a 4-1 record, with its only loss coming to No. 15 Auburn in the ITA Kickoff Weekend finals, 4-1. The Golden Knights do own a top-25 win, having bested No. 19 Arizona State, 4-2, on Jan. 28.
Before making the trip to Rocky Top, UCF will take on Vanderbilt Friday in Nashville.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Tennessee played both Charlotte and Bellarmine for the first time a season ago and lead the all-time series against those schools, 1-0 and 2-0, respectively.
The Lady Vols lead UCF in the all-time series, 3-0, and it is the first meeting between the two sides in Knoxville. UT last faced the Golden Knights in 2012 in Orlando. Also of note, UCF has never claimed as much as a point against the Lady Vols. Tennessee has defeated UCF by margins of 9-0 (1982), 7-0 (2009) and 7-0 (2012) in those three meetings.
For all the latest information from Lady Vol Tennis, follow the team on Twitter @Vol_WTennis, Instagram @vol_wtennis or Facebook.
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