University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#25 Vanderbilt
WOMEN’S TENNIS CENTRAL: #17 Tennessee Set to Host ITA Kickoff Weekend
January 25, 2024 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Due to their success last season, No. 17 Tennessee women's tennis is set to host ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Lady Vols will welcome No. 18 Southern California, No. 21 Miami and No. 25 Vanderbilt to Knoxville. The four squads will be competing for one spot in the 2024 ITA Indoor Championship in Seattle.
Per the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, Tennessee will enter the weekend as the No. 1 seed, Miami as the No. 2 seed, USC as the No. 3 seed and Vanderbilt as the No. 4 seed. Miami will take on USC on Friday at 1 p.m., while Tennessee will face Vanderbilt on Friday at 4 p.m. The winners of the first round of matches will play in the championship on Saturday at 3 p.m. The losers of the first round will meet in the consolation match on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Lady Volunteers (4-0) look to continue their success after notching four wins to start the season. This past weekend, senior Sofia Cabezas cruised past No. 42 Casie Wooten from Wake Forest, 6-3, 6-3, for her first ranked win of the season. Senior Esther Adeshina has also been hard to slow down, as she logged her 75th career doubles win against Wake Forest with partner Alana Wolfberg. The pair took down Wooten and Krystal Blanch in a 6-3 effort.
Lady Vols in the Rankings:
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced on Wednesday morning that Tennessee is No. 17 in the second poll of 2024. Additionally, the Southeastern Conference preseason poll selected the team to finish in a tie for sixth place, alongside South Carolina. The following members of the team were ranked in the final fall ITA individual poll posted on Nov. 15, 2023:
Alana Wolfberg No. 91
Sofia Cabezas No. 92
Eleonora Molinaro No. 100
Elza Tomase No. 115
Esther Adeshina and Sofia Cabezas No. 19
Catherine Aulia and Alana Wolfberg No. 42
Scouting the Commodores:
Tennessee leads the all-time series against a fellow SEC foe, 36-29. The last time the two squads met was on March 10, 2023, when the Lady Vols earned a 4-3 victory in Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt will travel four players ranked in singles and two pairs of ranked doubles players.
Vanderbilt Rankings:
Singles
No. 14 Celia-Belle Mohr
No. 24 Bridget Stammel
No. 75 Valeria Ray
No. 95 Holly Staff
Doubles
No. 17 Anessa Lee and Celia-Belle Mohr
No. 59 Holly Staff and Valeria Ray.
Scouting the Hurricanes:
The Lady Vols are an even 3-3 vs. Miami, with their last result coming as a 1-4 loss in Charlottesville, Va., on February 20, 2011. Their first-ever meeting against Miami came on, March 25, 1977, when Tennessee posted a 6-3 win. The Hurricanes will travel a wealth of talent in singles by bringing three ranked players.
Miami Rankings:
Singles
No. 25 Alexa Noel
No. 81 Audrey Boch-Collins
No. 90 Isabella Pfennig.
Scouting the Trojans:
The Big Orange is 0-3 against the Trojans, with every setback coming in a neutral-site contest. The Lady Vols faced Southern California for the first time on May 10, 1990, in Gainesville, Fla. The Trojans currently have four ranked singles players and two pairs of ranked doubles duos.
USC Rankings:
Singles
No. 22 Emma Charney
No. 33 Snow Han
No. 42 Naomi Cheong
No. 66 Grace Piper
No. 83 Eryn Cayetano
Doubles
No. 10 Eryn Cayetano and Emma Charney
No. 29 Grace Piper and Parker Fry.
For the most up-to-date information on all things Lady Vol Tennis, follow @Vol_WTennis on X and Instagram or on Facebook.
A full schedule for ITA Kickoff Weekend can be found below.
Friday:
Miami vs. USC - 1:00 p.m.
Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt - 4:00 p.m.
Saturday:
Women's Championship - 3:00 p.m.
Women's Consolation - 6:00 p.m.
Players Mentioned
