Women’s Tennis Central: #14 Tennessee at Ole Miss, Mississippi State

Rounding out the 2023 regular season, the 14th-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team takes to the state of Mississippi for a pair of matches that will cap the season schedule and push the team into postseason play.

The Lady Vols (16-4, 9-2 SEC) take on Ole Miss at 4 p.m. ET at Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center on Friday, April 13, before heading to Starkville to take on Mississippi State at 2 p.m. ET at A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Sunday, April 15.

Tennessee has locked up a double-bye in next week's SEC Championship, posting a 9-2 record in conference play thus far. The Lady Vols need just one more conference victory to tie the program record for SEC wins, and a pair of victories over the weekend would set a new high-water mark for single-season conference wins.

Last time out, the Lady Vols celebrated their talented seniors Daria Kuczer and Rebeka Mertena in a dominating 4-1 victory over South Carolina. Elza Tomase was incredible in the match, dropping then-No. 8 Ayana Akli, 6-4, 6-3, on Court 1. Akli entered the match a perfect 14-0 and had an 8-0 record in SEC play. The win marked Tomase's first career top-10 victory. The standout sophomore also reached an impressive milestone in the match, posting career singles win No. 50 against the Gamecocks.

Friday's matches will stream on SEC Network+ as part of the SEC CrossCourt Cast by Cracked Rackets, the whiparound coverage from matches across the league can be found HERE. Live stats against Ole Miss can be seen HERE, while streaming is available HERE. Sunday's match at Mississippi State can be viewed by clicking 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
#21 Elza Tomase
#26 Rebeka Mertena
#39 Daria Kuczer

Doubles
#40 Esther Adeshina/Rebeka Mertena

Ole Miss Rebels
Singles
#62 Ludmila Kareisova

Mississippi State Bulldogs
Singles
#95 Emmanouela Antonaki

HEAD COACH ALISON OJEDA
"It feels good to be back on the bus and headed to Mississippi for these matches right now. Our team has put in the work, just like every other weekend. It is not time to compete. Our eyes are firmly on Ole Miss because that is the task in front of us and they are a good team who will push us. I am looking forward to another challenge in this league."

SCOUTING THE REBELS
Ole Miss (9-10, 3-8 SEC) enters the weekend having lost their last two matches to Texas A&M and LSU a week ago. The Rebels are just 1-6 against ranked teams this season, but have three players with 15 or more singles victories this season.

Ole Miss is led by head coach Mark Beyers in his 22nd year with the team. He is 279-240 at the helm of the Rebels.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Mississippi State (10-12, 0-11 SEC) currently sits last in the SEC, winless through 11 matches in conference play. The Bulldogs got off to a hot start, posting a 10-1 record in non-conference play, highlighted by 4-1 victories over Memphis and Belmont, but they have been unable to sustain that success throughout the grueling conference schedule.

Mississippi State is led in wins by Antonaki with 17. The No. 95-ranked player in the country is 12-8 in dual action, having played all but one match at the top position.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Tennessee leads the all-time series against both Ole Miss and Mississippi State by marks of 30-21 and 39-11, respectively. Tennessee has not lost to Ole Miss since 2018, though the last two matches in Oxford were won by 4-3 scorelines in 2021 and 2020. The Big Orange has not won in Starkville since 2013.

For all the latest information from Lady Vol Tennis, follow the team on Twitter @Vol_WTennis, Instagram @vol_wtennis or Facebook.

Women’s Tennis Central: #14 Tennessee at Ole Miss, Mississippi State

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Players Mentioned

Esther Adeshina

Daria Kuczer

Rebeka Mertena

Elza Tomase

University of Tennessee Athletics