University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, March 20
Knoxville, Tenn.
11 a.m. ET
University of Tennessee
2
vs
4
Texas A&M
#18 Lady Vols Start Hot, Fall to #5 Aggies
March 20, 2026 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 18 University of Tennessee women's tennis team (8-5, 4-4) came up short against the No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies (15-3, 7-1) at Barksdale Stadium Friday. The Aggies logged four singles wins to claim the 4-2 decision.
"We're right there," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "That's the biggest takeaway. Knowing we're right there is a good thing, but at some point, we've got to do something about it.
"Our conference is loaded," Ojeda continued. "It's tough team after tough team after tough team. So we get another opportunity on Sunday. I know, again, we'll be right there. But, if we want to get to the finish line before our opponent, there are a couple things we need to clean up."
The Lady Vols opened the day strong, grabbing the doubles point with wins on court two via No. 24 Leyla Britez Risso and Catherine Aulia, and court one, courtesy of No. 74 Vanesa Suarez and Francesca Mattioli. On the former, the Lady Vol tandem pounced to a 4-0 lead in the set, but A&M's Amariei/Martinez duo earned four straight games of their own to draw even. Tennessee's seniors, though, would hold serve and tally a break to win the final two games.
On court one, Mattioli and Suarez took down the No. 8 doubles duo in the nation, Texas A&M's Kupres/Perez team. The Aggie duo opened to a 4-2 advantage, but the Lady Vols won three straight to take a 5-4 lead. They would hold serve to a 6-5 score, before a break point game winner would give the Lady Vols a 1-0 lead in the dual.
In singles, Britez Risso was dominant, downing Texas A&M's Ilinca Amariei 6-1,6-1. She converted six of 13 break-point opportunities while limiting Amariei to just one-of-five. She won 64 percent of her first serve points. The victory moved her to 11-0 in the dual campaign and gave the Lady Vols a 2-0 lead.
The Aggies then collected their first point of the match, as Lexington Reed defeated Tennessee's No. 92 Catherine Aulia, 6-2, 6-1, on court four to get Texas A&M on the board.
Shortly after the matches on courts three and four concluded, two lengthy tiebreak sets on courts one and five fell the Aggies' way, giving them five total first-set wins.
Lady Vol freshman Aulia Audrey put up a tough fight on court six, but ultimately fell in straight sets 5-7, 4-6.
On court three, Vanessa Suarez lost her first set 2-6 before a stronger showing in game two, taking five games. However, No. 31 Mia Kupres ultimately sealed the match with a 7-5 finish.
Facing a 2-3 deficit, Tennessee needed wins on courts one and five. The Aggies' No. 2 Lucciana Perez would take court one by a 7-6 (8), 6-3 margin, sealing a 4-2 victory in the dual.
UP NEXT:
The Lady Vols will travel to Austin, Texas for a matchup with the Texas Longhorns on Sunday. First serve is set for 1 p.m. ET.
"We're right there," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "That's the biggest takeaway. Knowing we're right there is a good thing, but at some point, we've got to do something about it.
"Our conference is loaded," Ojeda continued. "It's tough team after tough team after tough team. So we get another opportunity on Sunday. I know, again, we'll be right there. But, if we want to get to the finish line before our opponent, there are a couple things we need to clean up."
The Lady Vols opened the day strong, grabbing the doubles point with wins on court two via No. 24 Leyla Britez Risso and Catherine Aulia, and court one, courtesy of No. 74 Vanesa Suarez and Francesca Mattioli. On the former, the Lady Vol tandem pounced to a 4-0 lead in the set, but A&M's Amariei/Martinez duo earned four straight games of their own to draw even. Tennessee's seniors, though, would hold serve and tally a break to win the final two games.
On court one, Mattioli and Suarez took down the No. 8 doubles duo in the nation, Texas A&M's Kupres/Perez team. The Aggie duo opened to a 4-2 advantage, but the Lady Vols won three straight to take a 5-4 lead. They would hold serve to a 6-5 score, before a break point game winner would give the Lady Vols a 1-0 lead in the dual.
In singles, Britez Risso was dominant, downing Texas A&M's Ilinca Amariei 6-1,6-1. She converted six of 13 break-point opportunities while limiting Amariei to just one-of-five. She won 64 percent of her first serve points. The victory moved her to 11-0 in the dual campaign and gave the Lady Vols a 2-0 lead.
The Aggies then collected their first point of the match, as Lexington Reed defeated Tennessee's No. 92 Catherine Aulia, 6-2, 6-1, on court four to get Texas A&M on the board.
Shortly after the matches on courts three and four concluded, two lengthy tiebreak sets on courts one and five fell the Aggies' way, giving them five total first-set wins.
Lady Vol freshman Aulia Audrey put up a tough fight on court six, but ultimately fell in straight sets 5-7, 4-6.
On court three, Vanessa Suarez lost her first set 2-6 before a stronger showing in game two, taking five games. However, No. 31 Mia Kupres ultimately sealed the match with a 7-5 finish.
Facing a 2-3 deficit, Tennessee needed wins on courts one and five. The Aggies' No. 2 Lucciana Perez would take court one by a 7-6 (8), 6-3 margin, sealing a 4-2 victory in the dual.
UP NEXT:
The Lady Vols will travel to Austin, Texas for a matchup with the Texas Longhorns on Sunday. First serve is set for 1 p.m. ET.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
1
Violeta Martinez/ Ilinca Amariei (75/-) [TAMU]
4
6
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Lucciana Perez / 0 (2/-) [TAMU]
76
63
#2 Singles Match
12
Mia Kupres / 0 (31/-) [TAMU]
67
25
#3 Singles Match
12
Ilinca Amariei / 0 (54/-) [TAMU]
11
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Lexington Reed / 0 [TAMU]
66
12
#5 Singles Match
123
Violeta Martinez / 0 (96/-) [TAMU]
740
64UF
#6 Singles Match
12
Daria Smetannikov / 0 [TAMU]
76
54
Order of Finish:
4,3,2,1,6
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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