University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Missouri
Vols Hold Off Missouri for 4-3 Win
April 08, 2017 | Women's Tennis
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After a long, hard-fought match, the No. 24 Tennessee women's tennis team came up victorious Saturday against 46th-ranked Missouri in a 4-3 match at the Mizzou Tennis Complex.
After dropping Court 1 in doubles, the Vols (16-8, 3-7 SEC) rallied to take the remaining two courts and go up 1-0 early. In singles, the Tigers tied things up several times but were never able to take a lead over UT, giving the Volunteers their fifth ranked win of the season.
"Today's match was a great effort on every single court," Brittany Lindl said. "For all the adversity the team faced to get to Missouri, everyone responded to it in the best way possible and fought their hearts out today to get the team win. Eve and Sadie did great jobs closing out wins in tight situations against good opponents. Jo handled being in a high pressure situation better than anyone could've asked for, and that's something incredible to see from her as a freshman."
In doubles, the duo of Sadie Hammond and Gabby Schuck got a 6-3 win on Court 2 over Cassidy Spearman and Tate Schroeder. The doubles point came down to Court 3, where the team of Johanna Silva and Ariadna Riley edged the team of Mackenzy Middlebrook and Clare Raley, 7-5.
In singles, Hammond defeated Cassidy Spearman, 6-3, 7-6, and Eve Repic outlasted Tate Schroeder in a 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 match to extend Tennessee's lead to 3-2.
"Today was about more than tennis; it was about handling adversity," Repic said. "Our coaches, administration and teammates were absolute superstars. UT athletics provides us with all the necessities to compete at the highest level, and on behalf of women's tennis, I want to say a huge thank you to them. Winning an SEC match on the road is always tough, and I'm so proud of my teammates today."
"I think we've grown so much as a team within the past few days," Hammond said. "We've had to overcome a lot of obstacles, and we've proven to ourselves how tough we are. We know that no matter what is thrown at us, we can get through it and come out successful. We look at each day as another opportunity to succeed. I'm so proud of our determination and perseverance."
After MU tied things up, the match came down to Court 4, where Silva faced Mackenzy Middlebrook. Middlebrook dominated the first set, winning 6-2, but Silva was able to rally back from the early deficit and complete the 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory and give the Vols the win.
"Early in the match, I was just trying to do whatever I could to stay out there as long as possible for my teammates," said Silva. "As time went on, I realized that I was in a situation where I really needed to dig deep for them. I was able to just keep fighting for my teammates and ultimately was able to win the match. My team helps me so much, and I am so happy to be here."
Tennessee heads to its final road match of the regular season Sunday, traveling to Arkansas to face the 19th-ranked Razorbacks in a 1 p.m. contest at George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.
For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee women's tennis program, follow @Vol_WTennis on Twitter.
No. 24 Tennessee 4, No. 46 Missouri 3
Singles
1. Bea Machado Santos (MU) vs. #58 Brittany Lindl (UT), 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
2. Eve Repic (UT) def. Tate Schroeder (MU), 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
3. Sadie Hammond (UT) def. Cassidy Spearman (MU), 6-3, 7-6
4. Johanna Silva (UT) def. Mackenzy Middlebrook (MU), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Amina Ismail (MU) vs. Kim Kermet (UT), 6-2, 6-4
6. Clare Raley (MU) def. Gabby Schuck (UT), 7-5, 7-5
Doubles
1. #17 Santos/Ismail (MU) def. Lindl/Repic (UT), 6-1
2. Hammond/Schuck (UT) def. Spearman/Schroeder (MU), 6-3
3. Silva/Riley (UT) def. Middlebrook/Raley (MU), 7-5
Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3); Singles (5, 3, 6, 2, 1, 4)
POSTMATCH QUOTES
Head Coach Alison Ojeda
"In 1998, The University of Tennessee promised my parents that they would take care of me as a student athletes. Almost 20 years later, our university is still keeping that promise; not just to my parents, but to our current teams parents as well. We endured some pretty rough hours over the last 3 days and UT stepped up big time! Our administration, Donna Thomas, Dara Worrell and David Elliott, spent a lot of time and money to figure out a way for our team to get to Missouri so we could compete. We are incredibly grateful. They played as much a role in today's win as our team did. Thank you!"
Assistant Coach Ty Schaub
"It was a gritty effort by the whole team today. We faced some tough conditions with the travel and what not but they weren't bothered by it one bit and came out and competed at a high level today. I think across the board there are definitely some things we could do better but I don't think we could have fought or competed any harder than we did today and I am very proud of that."
Freshman Ariadna Riley
"Today's match was as much of a physical battle as it was a mental one. Our girls fought with a determination and grit at a level we've been striving for every day in practice. We could feel the intensity of our team's unity as we continued to feed off each other's energy and channel that towards each match. I'm incredibly proud of the way we competed today. It showed our character as a team and just how much being a Tennessee Volunteer truly means to us. We will use today's match as a stepping stone and carry this momentum into our next tough match tomorrow."
