University of Tennessee
Georgia
Women’s Tennis Central: #12 Tennessee at #4 Georgia
March 23, 2023 | Women's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – Facing a top-15 showdown for the second consecutive week, the 12th-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team hits the road to take on No. 4 Georgia on Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. ET at Magill Tennis Complex.
The match marks a battle atop the SEC standings as both Tennessee (13-2, 6-0 SEC) and Georgia (13-3, 6-0 SEC) are unbeaten in league play through three weekends. Both teams are tied for the top spot in the conference entering Friday's match.
The Lady Volunteers are coming off a pair of dominating home performances against Auburn and Alabama. Tennessee did not lose a singles match all weekend and only conceded one set in matches that finished.
Rebeka Mertena was named SEC Player of the Week on Wednesday afternoon after compiling three ranked wins during the weekend. She nabbed one of those in singles, but was equally as impressive in doubles, picking up a pair of victories over the No. 20 and No. 58-ranked duos in the country with Esther Adeshina.
Mertena enters Friday's match just one singles victory away from 100 in her Tennessee career.
Friday's match will be broadcast on SEC Network+ through Cracked Racquet's whiparound coverage of conference action. Live streams of just the UGA vs. Tennessee match can be found HERE, while live stats are available HERE.
A PEEK AT THE CHARTS
Tuesday, the ITA updated its individual rankings. Below are each team's ranked singles and doubles players.
Tennessee Lady Volunteers
Singles
#34 Rebeka Mertena
#39 Daria Kuczer
#49 Elza Tomase
Doubles
#39 Esther Adeshina/Rebeka Mertena
Georgia Bulldogs
Singles
#8 Lea Ma
#10 Dasha Vidmanova
#57 Anastasiia Lopata
#60 Mell Reasco
Doubles
#31 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn
#44 Meg Kowalski/Mell Reasco
HEAD COACH ALISON OJEDA
"This team travels well together, so it's fun to be back on the road again. We've spent this week practicing hard with our new doubles pairings. I am excited to see what we look like in competition tomorrow."
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Georgia has suffered just three losses this year, all to top-10 teams. The Bulldogs have fallen twice to North Carolina, once in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, then again in the finals of the ITA National Indoor Championship. They also suffered defeat at Ohio State less than a week after the Lady Vols fell in Columbus, losing 4-0 to the Buckeyes in early February.
Georgia is coming off a trio of wins from a week ago. In midweek action, UGA topped in-state foe Mercer, 7-0, before defeating Alabama 4-1 and Auburn 5-2.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Georgia leads the all-time series with Tennessee, 52-9. The teams met twice last year, once on Rocky Top, then again in the semifinals of the 2022 SEC Tournament in Gainesville, Florida.
The Bulldogs won both, but Tennessee put together a gutsy performance on April 23, 2022, falling just a singles win short of upsetting the Dawgs at Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex on the campus of Florida
For all the latest information from Lady Vol Tennis, follow the team on Twitter @Vol_WTennis, Instagram @vol_wtennis or Facebook.
Players Mentioned
