University of Tennessee Athletics
Sunday, January 11
Knoxville, Tenn.
11:30 a.m. ET Doubles // 12:30 p.m. ET Singles
University of Tennessee
vs
UT Invite
#16 Lady Vols Collect Hard-Fought Wins on Final Day of UT Invite
January 11, 2026 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee women's tennis team concluded its first weekend of competition Sunday, claiming eight total wins on the final day of the UT invite.
"[I] couldn't be more excited for our girls." Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. "We've got an experienced team… they know how to compete, and they understand the importance of practice, and that showed up today.
"We've got three top-25 teams [here] and we were all competing hard," Ojeda said of the event. "The whole point of this weekend is to play as many matches as we can at a high level, to be able to figure out what we want to focus on this upcoming week in practice, to make tiny tweaks to get ready for Wake Forest."
Complete results from the UT Invite can be found on the ITA event page.
No. 16 Tennessee opened the day with doubles play, facing No. 25 Baylor. All three of the Lady Vols' doubles teams collected set wins.
Vanesa Suarez and Francesca Mattioli picked up an early break to take a 3-1 advantage, and held on to win their set, 6-3.
On court three, Tennessee's Maeve Thornton and Saray Yli-Piipari exchanged blows with the Bears' Rahimkhani/Villegas pairing, dropping their first game to go down a break, and earning a break of their own to tie the set at 3-3. They would claim another to win the set, 6-4.
Tennessee's senior tandem of No. 15 Catherine Aulia and Leyla Britez Risso faced fierce competition on court one, as they and Baylor's Gibbs/Zack team each held serve to a 6-6 score. In the tiebreak, the Lady Vols battled to a 9-7 win on a sharp return from Britez Risso which handcuffed Alian Zack at the net.
"It was close, Aulia reflected. "We had chances to break and we just couldn't convert. We just had to take it one point at a time on our serves and go to work during the tiebreak."
In singles play, facing No. 18 Vanderbilt's lineup, the Lady Vols collected four first sets to jump in front early. No. 82 Elim Yan, playing on court six, was one of those four, and eventually managed a 6-2, 7-5 victory. At the other end of the Goodfriend Tennis Center, Yli-Piipari collected her singles court by the same score. Both wins marked the third-consecutive straight-sets victory for both players, capping a flawless weekend for the two sophomores.
"You can look at the top courts… but it's a team effort," associate head coach Robin Goodman noted. "I think courts five and six did just a tremendous job, getting the job done, winning and getting off the court. It's not easy to do that, so credit to them to have the focus and the heart to go out and get the job done in every match this weekend."
On court two, No. 26 Leyla Britez Risso logged a first set win, 6-4, after securing a late break to reach a 5-4 advantage with serve. She and Vanderbilt's Trinetra Vijayakumar battled to a tiebreak in the second set, and the two each faced multiple set or match points as the competitors traded breaks. The Lady Vol ultimately secured the contentious victory on a perfect return down the line to her opponent's right, logging her third straight point and earning a 7-6 (12-10) victory.
"The whole match was really a mental game," Britez Risso said. "Both of us were playing really well from the start.
"What really got me to a win today was my decision – that I was going to stay in for one more ball. And, when I have the opportunity to finish it, I will finish it."
Court three was the final match to wrap, featuring Catherine Aulia and No. 36 Mia Yamakita. After a dominant start from Aulia, logging wins of the first nine-consecutive games, Yamakita battled and won six of the next seven, knotting the score at one set apiece.
"I knew it was going to be a grind, the third set," Aulia said. "There were a lot of deuce games, and I tried to not let that affect me emotionally. I knew that I was still in the match no matter what the score was."
Despite the extreme swing of momentum, the third set steadied and lead to a tiebreak. After multiple match points, and now with a 7-6 edge, Aulia crashed the net and stifled her opponent's return, claiming a 7-6 (8-6) win of the third set.
"This could have been a conference match at the end of the season, the way it felt," Goodman said of Sunday's events. "Everyone out here competed incredibly well, but when the big moments came, [our team's] true identities came forward.
"That's how I think the girls managed to cross the finish line – they were themselves in the big moments and they played to win."
The Vols conclude the UT Invite having won 15 of 18 singles courts and seven of nine doubles courts on their first weekend of the spring slate.
The Lady Vols open the dual season on Jan. 17, as they host Wake Forest at the Goodfriend Tennis Center.
"[I] couldn't be more excited for our girls." Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. "We've got an experienced team… they know how to compete, and they understand the importance of practice, and that showed up today.
"We've got three top-25 teams [here] and we were all competing hard," Ojeda said of the event. "The whole point of this weekend is to play as many matches as we can at a high level, to be able to figure out what we want to focus on this upcoming week in practice, to make tiny tweaks to get ready for Wake Forest."
Complete results from the UT Invite can be found on the ITA event page.
No. 16 Tennessee opened the day with doubles play, facing No. 25 Baylor. All three of the Lady Vols' doubles teams collected set wins.
Vanesa Suarez and Francesca Mattioli picked up an early break to take a 3-1 advantage, and held on to win their set, 6-3.
On court three, Tennessee's Maeve Thornton and Saray Yli-Piipari exchanged blows with the Bears' Rahimkhani/Villegas pairing, dropping their first game to go down a break, and earning a break of their own to tie the set at 3-3. They would claim another to win the set, 6-4.
Tennessee's senior tandem of No. 15 Catherine Aulia and Leyla Britez Risso faced fierce competition on court one, as they and Baylor's Gibbs/Zack team each held serve to a 6-6 score. In the tiebreak, the Lady Vols battled to a 9-7 win on a sharp return from Britez Risso which handcuffed Alian Zack at the net.
"It was close, Aulia reflected. "We had chances to break and we just couldn't convert. We just had to take it one point at a time on our serves and go to work during the tiebreak."
In singles play, facing No. 18 Vanderbilt's lineup, the Lady Vols collected four first sets to jump in front early. No. 82 Elim Yan, playing on court six, was one of those four, and eventually managed a 6-2, 7-5 victory. At the other end of the Goodfriend Tennis Center, Yli-Piipari collected her singles court by the same score. Both wins marked the third-consecutive straight-sets victory for both players, capping a flawless weekend for the two sophomores.
"You can look at the top courts… but it's a team effort," associate head coach Robin Goodman noted. "I think courts five and six did just a tremendous job, getting the job done, winning and getting off the court. It's not easy to do that, so credit to them to have the focus and the heart to go out and get the job done in every match this weekend."
On court two, No. 26 Leyla Britez Risso logged a first set win, 6-4, after securing a late break to reach a 5-4 advantage with serve. She and Vanderbilt's Trinetra Vijayakumar battled to a tiebreak in the second set, and the two each faced multiple set or match points as the competitors traded breaks. The Lady Vol ultimately secured the contentious victory on a perfect return down the line to her opponent's right, logging her third straight point and earning a 7-6 (12-10) victory.
"The whole match was really a mental game," Britez Risso said. "Both of us were playing really well from the start.
"What really got me to a win today was my decision – that I was going to stay in for one more ball. And, when I have the opportunity to finish it, I will finish it."
Court three was the final match to wrap, featuring Catherine Aulia and No. 36 Mia Yamakita. After a dominant start from Aulia, logging wins of the first nine-consecutive games, Yamakita battled and won six of the next seven, knotting the score at one set apiece.
"I knew it was going to be a grind, the third set," Aulia said. "There were a lot of deuce games, and I tried to not let that affect me emotionally. I knew that I was still in the match no matter what the score was."
Despite the extreme swing of momentum, the third set steadied and lead to a tiebreak. After multiple match points, and now with a 7-6 edge, Aulia crashed the net and stifled her opponent's return, claiming a 7-6 (8-6) win of the third set.
"This could have been a conference match at the end of the season, the way it felt," Goodman said of Sunday's events. "Everyone out here competed incredibly well, but when the big moments came, [our team's] true identities came forward.
"That's how I think the girls managed to cross the finish line – they were themselves in the big moments and they played to win."
The Vols conclude the UT Invite having won 15 of 18 singles courts and seven of nine doubles courts on their first weekend of the spring slate.
The Lady Vols open the dual season on Jan. 17, as they host Wake Forest at the Goodfriend Tennis Center.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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