University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, April 7
Knoxville, TN
4 PM
University of Tennessee
vs
Florida
Women’s Tennis Central: #15 Tennessee vs. #17 Florida, #27 South Carolina
April 06, 2023 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Closing out the 2023 regular-season home schedule, the 15th-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team welcomes No. 17 Florida and No. 27 South Carolina to Rocky Top for a pair of matches at Barksdale Stadium/Goodfriend Tennis Center on Friday and Sunday.
Sunday's match, which pits the Lady Vols (14-4, 7-2 SEC) against the Gamecocks (12-7, 7-3 SEC), will serve as Tennessee's Senior Day during which Rebeka Mertena and Daria Kuczer will be honored for their years of hard work, dedication, energy and enthusiasm they gave to the program every single day.
The celebration will start at approximately 11:55 a.m. ET on the courts.
Both matches mark massive results in the SEC standings. All three squads are currently tied for third in the conference with seven wins apiece and the weekend's outcome will go a long way towards determining the seeding in the 2023 SEC Women's Tennis Championship which is set to begin on April 19 at Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
UT is coming off a massive come-from-behind victory at LSU where the Lady Vols battled from a 2-3 deficit all the way back to a 4-3 decision with a pair of three-set winners. Mertena and Elza Tomase were the ones to come through in the clutch, each picking up wins with scores of 4-6, 7-4(4), 6-2 and 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, respectively.
Friday's match will be streamed on SEC Network+ as part of the SEC CrossCourt Cast by Cracked Racquets. Fans can also view the Playsight streams 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
#24 Rebeka Mertena
#38 Elza Tomase
#46 Daria Kuczer
Doubles
#36 Esther Adeshina/Rebeka Mertena
Florida Gators
Singles
#37 Sara Dahlstrom
#45 Carly Briggs
#86 Alicia Dudeney
Doubles
#53 Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee
#79 Rachel Gailis/Carly Briggs
South Carolina Gamecocks
Singles
#8 Ayana Akli
#19 Sarah Hamner
Doubles
#48 Ayana Akli/Sarah Hamner
HEAD COACH ALISON OJEDA
"When we recruit players, we can only hope that they have the tennis experience that both Daria and Rebeka had during their time at the University of Tennessee. They have both developed into tremendous tennis players who our team depends on. We greatly appreciate all that they have done for us and are looking forward to celebrating them this weekend."
"With that being said, we have a lot of important matches ahead of us. So, I hope as we get to continue to celebrate many wins together before their playing time is up here at Tennessee."
SCOUTING THE GATORS
Florida (13-4, 7-2 SEC) comes into the match on a five-match winning streak, kicked off by a 4-1 upset victory over No. 3 Michigan on March 22 in Gainesville. The Gators come into the series ranked No. 17 and are led by a pair of 20-match singles winners in Alicia Dudeney and Emily de Oliveira.
The Gators' best positions in singles this year have been on Courts 4 and 5 where they are 11-2 and 9-2, respectively. UF had been on a four-match streak taking the doubles point before dropping it last time out against Arkansas.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
South Carolina has already played its first match of the weekend, falling at Georgia, 4-1, Thursday afternoon in a match that was moved up due to impending weather. Prior to that, the Gamecocks had won six consecutive matches in SEC play.
The Gamecocks are led by a top-10 singles player in Ayana Akli who is a perfect 14-0 in dual action this season on Court 1.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Florida leads Tennessee in the all-time series, 47-1, but the Lady Vols won the last matchup against the Gators in Knoxville, 4-2, on March 7, 2021.
The Lady Vols lead South Carolina in the all-time series, 27-23, and are 14-8 when playing the Gamecocks on Rocky Top. UT won its last meeting against South Carolina at home, 4-0, on March 5, 2021.
For all the latest information from Lady Vol Tennis, follow the team on Twitter @Vol_WTennis, Instagram @vol_wtennis or Facebook.
Sunday's match, which pits the Lady Vols (14-4, 7-2 SEC) against the Gamecocks (12-7, 7-3 SEC), will serve as Tennessee's Senior Day during which Rebeka Mertena and Daria Kuczer will be honored for their years of hard work, dedication, energy and enthusiasm they gave to the program every single day.
The celebration will start at approximately 11:55 a.m. ET on the courts.
Both matches mark massive results in the SEC standings. All three squads are currently tied for third in the conference with seven wins apiece and the weekend's outcome will go a long way towards determining the seeding in the 2023 SEC Women's Tennis Championship which is set to begin on April 19 at Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
UT is coming off a massive come-from-behind victory at LSU where the Lady Vols battled from a 2-3 deficit all the way back to a 4-3 decision with a pair of three-set winners. Mertena and Elza Tomase were the ones to come through in the clutch, each picking up wins with scores of 4-6, 7-4(4), 6-2 and 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, respectively.
Friday's match will be streamed on SEC Network+ as part of the SEC CrossCourt Cast by Cracked Racquets. Fans can also view the Playsight streams 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
#24 Rebeka Mertena
#38 Elza Tomase
#46 Daria Kuczer
Doubles
#36 Esther Adeshina/Rebeka Mertena
Florida Gators
Singles
#37 Sara Dahlstrom
#45 Carly Briggs
#86 Alicia Dudeney
Doubles
#53 Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee
#79 Rachel Gailis/Carly Briggs
South Carolina Gamecocks
Singles
#8 Ayana Akli
#19 Sarah Hamner
Doubles
#48 Ayana Akli/Sarah Hamner
HEAD COACH ALISON OJEDA
"When we recruit players, we can only hope that they have the tennis experience that both Daria and Rebeka had during their time at the University of Tennessee. They have both developed into tremendous tennis players who our team depends on. We greatly appreciate all that they have done for us and are looking forward to celebrating them this weekend."
"With that being said, we have a lot of important matches ahead of us. So, I hope as we get to continue to celebrate many wins together before their playing time is up here at Tennessee."
SCOUTING THE GATORS
Florida (13-4, 7-2 SEC) comes into the match on a five-match winning streak, kicked off by a 4-1 upset victory over No. 3 Michigan on March 22 in Gainesville. The Gators come into the series ranked No. 17 and are led by a pair of 20-match singles winners in Alicia Dudeney and Emily de Oliveira.
The Gators' best positions in singles this year have been on Courts 4 and 5 where they are 11-2 and 9-2, respectively. UF had been on a four-match streak taking the doubles point before dropping it last time out against Arkansas.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
South Carolina has already played its first match of the weekend, falling at Georgia, 4-1, Thursday afternoon in a match that was moved up due to impending weather. Prior to that, the Gamecocks had won six consecutive matches in SEC play.
The Gamecocks are led by a top-10 singles player in Ayana Akli who is a perfect 14-0 in dual action this season on Court 1.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Florida leads Tennessee in the all-time series, 47-1, but the Lady Vols won the last matchup against the Gators in Knoxville, 4-2, on March 7, 2021.
The Lady Vols lead South Carolina in the all-time series, 27-23, and are 14-8 when playing the Gamecocks on Rocky Top. UT won its last meeting against South Carolina at home, 4-0, on March 5, 2021.
For all the latest information from Lady Vol Tennis, follow the team on Twitter @Vol_WTennis, Instagram @vol_wtennis or Facebook.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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