University of Tennessee Athletics
Sunday, March 24
Knoxville, Tenn.
1:00 PM
University of Tennessee
4
vs
0
Ole Miss
No. 29 Lady Vols Defeat Ole Miss, 4-0
March 24, 2019 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 29th-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team capped off another undefeated weekend of SEC matches, defeating No. 48 Ole Miss Sunday at Barksdale Stadium, 4-0.
The win is the Lady Vols' 10th shutout victory this season and second in conference play.
"We knew that every single match was going to be really tough, but we also knew that we had a chance to win at every singles spot," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "So our goal was to go out there, get four point on the board and not rely on another teammate to do the job."
Tennessee (14-5, 4-3 SEC) started the match strong, winning the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead.
Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines rebounded from a loss on Friday in doubles with a 6-2 win over Sabina Machalova and Alexa Bortles at the No. 1 spot in the lineup. Rebeka Mertena and Johanna Silva clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 victory at the No. 3 spot, the duo's fifth win in six matches.
In singles, three stellar performances at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 secured the win for the Lady Vols.
Tenika McGiffin clinched the match for Tennessee with a 6-4, 6-0 win on Court 6. The sophomore from Brisbane, Australia, has won six of her past eight singles matches and clinched a match for the Lady Vols for the second time this season.
Staines gave the Lady Vols their first singles win, defeating Tea Jandric on Court 2 in two sets, 6-3, 6-2. Hammond followed closely behind with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Machalova.
Staines has now won six of her past seven singles matches, dating back to Feb. 23. The sophomore is 10-4 in dual matches this season, including 3-1 in SEC competition.
UP NEXT: Tennessee hits the road for a pair of away conference matches next weekend. The Lady Vols take on Auburn on Friday at 2 p.m. before facing Alabama on Saturday at 12 p.m.
QUOTES
Head Coach Alison Ojeda
"Our team has been working so hard. Everything that they do is together, so from a team culture standpoint and a working hard standpoint, we have that part down. We're doing an unbelievable job of that stuff.
"Where we're really focusing right now is on our mental toughness and ability to execute. At this point, everybody we're playing is really good. So at this point it comes down to whether we can manage our nerves and still play through them. We're nervous because this means something to us. We want to win and we want to be really good and we know we can be. With that said, you have to be willing to play through nerves and accept them and keep going."
Sophomore Tenika McGiffin
"I'm really proud of how all of us came out with authority. We were really gritty and battled for each other. We were very territorial and determined like an octopus. Today was a really solid match, we were out here on a mission."
Senior Sadie Hammond
"It was really fun today. That was one of the things that I wanted to come out and do today was just come out and have fun. I feel like these teams that we played this weekend are pretty similar, but we came out today and were even better than we were on Friday. We told ourselves that we were going to be mentally tough and not give up and we came out and did exactly that.
RESULTS
No. 29 Tennessee 4, No. 48 Ole Miss 0
Singles
1. #85 Sadie Hammond (UT) def. Sabina Machalova (OM), 6-3, 6-4
2. Kaitlin Staines (UT) def. Tea Jandric (OM), 6-3, 6-2
3. Johanna Silva (UT) vs. Anna Vrbenska (OM), 6-3, 1-6, unfinished
4. Rebeka Mertena (UT) vs. Alexa Bortles (OM), 7-6 (4), 3-3, unfinished
5. Ariadna Riley (UT) vs. Tereza Janatova (OM), 5-7, 2-2, unfinished
6. Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Allie Sanford (OM), 6-4, 6-0
Doubles
1. #6 Hammond/Staines (UT) def. Machalova/Bortles (OM), 6-2
2. Haumuller/McGiffin (UT) vs. Jandric/Vrbenska (OM), 4-2, unfinished
3. Mertena/Silva (UT) def. Janatova/Kriscunas (OM), 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3); Singles (2, 1, 6)
The win is the Lady Vols' 10th shutout victory this season and second in conference play.
"We knew that every single match was going to be really tough, but we also knew that we had a chance to win at every singles spot," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "So our goal was to go out there, get four point on the board and not rely on another teammate to do the job."
Tennessee (14-5, 4-3 SEC) started the match strong, winning the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead.
Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines rebounded from a loss on Friday in doubles with a 6-2 win over Sabina Machalova and Alexa Bortles at the No. 1 spot in the lineup. Rebeka Mertena and Johanna Silva clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 victory at the No. 3 spot, the duo's fifth win in six matches.
In singles, three stellar performances at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 secured the win for the Lady Vols.
Tenika McGiffin clinched the match for Tennessee with a 6-4, 6-0 win on Court 6. The sophomore from Brisbane, Australia, has won six of her past eight singles matches and clinched a match for the Lady Vols for the second time this season.
Staines gave the Lady Vols their first singles win, defeating Tea Jandric on Court 2 in two sets, 6-3, 6-2. Hammond followed closely behind with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Machalova.
Staines has now won six of her past seven singles matches, dating back to Feb. 23. The sophomore is 10-4 in dual matches this season, including 3-1 in SEC competition.
UP NEXT: Tennessee hits the road for a pair of away conference matches next weekend. The Lady Vols take on Auburn on Friday at 2 p.m. before facing Alabama on Saturday at 12 p.m.
QUOTES
Head Coach Alison Ojeda
"Our team has been working so hard. Everything that they do is together, so from a team culture standpoint and a working hard standpoint, we have that part down. We're doing an unbelievable job of that stuff.
"Where we're really focusing right now is on our mental toughness and ability to execute. At this point, everybody we're playing is really good. So at this point it comes down to whether we can manage our nerves and still play through them. We're nervous because this means something to us. We want to win and we want to be really good and we know we can be. With that said, you have to be willing to play through nerves and accept them and keep going."
Sophomore Tenika McGiffin
"I'm really proud of how all of us came out with authority. We were really gritty and battled for each other. We were very territorial and determined like an octopus. Today was a really solid match, we were out here on a mission."
Senior Sadie Hammond
"It was really fun today. That was one of the things that I wanted to come out and do today was just come out and have fun. I feel like these teams that we played this weekend are pretty similar, but we came out today and were even better than we were on Friday. We told ourselves that we were going to be mentally tough and not give up and we came out and did exactly that.
RESULTS
No. 29 Tennessee 4, No. 48 Ole Miss 0
Singles
1. #85 Sadie Hammond (UT) def. Sabina Machalova (OM), 6-3, 6-4
2. Kaitlin Staines (UT) def. Tea Jandric (OM), 6-3, 6-2
3. Johanna Silva (UT) vs. Anna Vrbenska (OM), 6-3, 1-6, unfinished
4. Rebeka Mertena (UT) vs. Alexa Bortles (OM), 7-6 (4), 3-3, unfinished
5. Ariadna Riley (UT) vs. Tereza Janatova (OM), 5-7, 2-2, unfinished
6. Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Allie Sanford (OM), 6-4, 6-0
Doubles
1. #6 Hammond/Staines (UT) def. Machalova/Bortles (OM), 6-2
2. Haumuller/McGiffin (UT) vs. Jandric/Vrbenska (OM), 4-2, unfinished
3. Mertena/Silva (UT) def. Janatova/Kriscunas (OM), 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3); Singles (2, 1, 6)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Everything Orange S2 I Catherine Aulia (Women's Tennis)
Thursday, March 20
WTN | Alison Ojeda and Sofia Cabezas Postgame vs. UCLA (5.18.24)
Saturday, May 18
WTN | Alison Ojeda and Lauren Anzalotta Media Availability (5.15.24)
Wednesday, May 15
Everything Orange | Alison Ojeda (Women's Tennis)
Thursday, January 18
