WTEN CENTRAL: #29 Lady Vols vs. #50 Mississippi State/#48 Ole Miss

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 29^th-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team returns to Knoxville for a pair of home matches this weekend against No. 50 Mississippi State and No. 48 Ole Miss.

The Lady Vols (12-5, 2-3 SEC) take on Mississippi State on Friday at 3:30 p.m. before capping off the weekend against Ole Miss on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Tennessee is coming off of two hard-fought road losses to ranked teams. The Lady Vols fell to No. 7 South Carolina on the road, 4-1, before dropping another road test against Florida, 4-2.

Each match was affected by weather, as the South Carolina match was moved from 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. to avoid inclement conditions and the Florida match was pushed back an hour and moved to the Gators' three-court indoor facility.

This week's ITA rankings update reflected another strong week by Tennessee's No. 1 doubles duo of Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines, as the pair moved up to No. 6.

The No. 6 ranking is the highest by a Tennessee doubles team since the 2013 season's final rankings, when Kata Szekely and Brynn Boren ranked No. 5 in the nation. That season, Szekely and Boren were named All-Americans.

Hammond also came in ranked in singles at No. 85.

Mississippi State (11-6, 2-3) boasts wins over Auburn and Florida this season, but has lost four of its past six matches. The Bulldogs also fell to South Florida on Feb. 22, 5-2, a team that Tennessee beat on Feb. 17, 4-0.

The Bulldogs' roster features the only ranked singles player or doubles teams that the Lady Vols are slated to face this weekend, as freshman Emma Antonaki is ranked as the No. 82 singles player.

Ole Miss (6-5, 3-2) has a winning record in conference play, coming by wins over Mississippi State, Alabama and Auburn. The Rebels however have yet to win a road match this season and dropped a home match to Purdue during ITA Kick-Off Weekend, a team that Tennessee defeated, 7-0.

Ole Miss faces No. 2 Georgia in Athens, Ga., on Friday before traveling to Knoxville for Sunday's match against Tennessee.

SERIES HISTORY: The Lady Vols are 36-9 overall against Mississippi State, including a 16-2 mark in Knoxville. Tennessee also holds a 26-21 advantage over Ole Miss, 15-7 in Knoxville.

HOME SWEET HOME: Tennessee is 11-2 at home this season, including 2-1 in SEC matches. Including this weekend's pair of home matches, the Lady Vols only have four home contests remaining.

After Sunday, Tennessee will compete in four straight conference road matches before returning home to close out the regular season against Vanderbilt (April 12) and Kentucky (April 14).

FRESHMAN PHENOMS: Tennessee freshmen Maia Haumuller and Rebeka Mertena have each had stellar freshman seasons since arriving at UT in January.

Haumuller is 10-3 in singles during dual matches this season and has won seven of her past eight matches. Mertena is 12-3 in dual matches and has won eight of her past nine singles contests. Mertena is 3-1 in SEC play.

DOUBLES DOMINATION: Tennessee's doubles accomplishments have not been limited to just the success of sixth-ranked duo Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines. As a team, Tennessee has won the doubles point in 14 of its 17 matches this season.

Rebeka Mertena and Johanna Silva are 5-3 in dual matches at the Lady Vols' No. 3 doubles spot and clinched the doubles point against No. 34 Florida for Tennessee. At the Lady Vols' No. 2 doubles spot, Tenika McGiffin and Maia Haumuller are 7-3 in dual matches.

WTEN CENTRAL: #29 Lady Vols vs. #50 Mississippi State/#48 Ole Miss

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Players Mentioned

Sadie Hammond

Maia Haumuller

Tenika McGiffin

Rebeka Mertena

Johanna Silva

Kaitlin Staines

University of Tennessee Athletics