No. 18 Lady Vols Capture SEC Road Win at Auburn, 4-2

Friday, March 29

Auburn, Ala.

3:00 PM

University of Tennessee

Auburn

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2019.03.02 - Tennessee vs. Georgia

Photo by: Megan Albers/Tennessee Athletics

March 29, 2019 | Women's Tennis

AUBURN, Ala. – The 18^th-ranked Tennessee women's team began its four-match road trip with a win Friday afternoon, defeating No. 49 Auburn at Yarbrough Tennis Center, 4-2.

The victory is Tennessee's first conference road win of the season and the Lady Vols' first win at Auburn since 2011.

"Our girls won today with our hearts," Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. "As athletes, we can't always control how well we play or how our bodies feel, but we can control the amount of effort we give and the attitude we have while giving it.

"Our team's heart, that's what I am most proud of. I give a lot of credit to Auburn, they came out ready to win. They took it to us in doubles which forced us to compete at a higher level. I'm excited for our girls because they did just that, stepped up and performed."

The win also stands as UT's third straight conference win overall, which marks the first three-match SEC win streak by the Lady Vols since 2015.

Rebeka Mertena and Sadie Hammond both registered ranked singles wins to give Tennessee (15-5, 5-3 SEC) its first two points of the match.

On Court 4, Mertena downed 113^th-ranked Alannah Griffin in two quick sets, 6-2, 6-1. The win was the freshman's first ranked singles win of her collegiate career.

"We did a great job coming back after we lost the doubles point," Mertena said. "We did everything we could and we fought until the very last point.

"We are supporting each other and that really helps us to do a better job, we're stronger together."

Hammond followed closely on Court 1 with an identical 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 91 Jaeda Daniel, giving Tennessee a 2-1 lead after the Lady Vols previously fell to Auburn in doubles.

Tenika McGiffin pushed the lead to 3-1 after tallying a victory on Court 6 over Caroline Turner, 6-4, 6-2. The Lady Vol sophomore has now won eight of her past nine singles matches.

The clincher for Tennessee came on Court 3 from Johanna Silva. After falling in the first set, 6-4, Silva won the second set by a 6-0 margin before taking a dramatic third set by a 7-5 score.

"It was a tough battle today," Silva said. "We had a slow start, but after the doubles point everybody stepped their game up and came back with great energy. We had trust in each other and were able to secure the bag."

Ariadna Riley's match did not finish, but the junior was able to capture a second set tiebreak victory to hold off Auburn's Yu Chen from putting a point on the board for the Tigers.

Auburn (13-10, 0-8) won the doubles point, as Tennessee fell on Courts 2 and 3.

Maia Haumuller and McGiffin fell to Yu Chen and Alannah Griffin on Court 2, 6-1, and Mertena and Silva came up short on Court 3 against Daniel and Lindsay Song, 6-3.

UP NEXT: Tennessee heads to Tuscaloosa for a Sunday match against No. 39 Alabama. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET.

QUOTES

Sophomore Tenika McGiffin
"I'm really proud of the way the girls came out in singles and competed with their heart on their sleeves. We all knew our role and what we had to do to come out with the win. It's an awesome feeling to win away from home. We're excited to hit the training court tomorrow in preparation for our match on Sunday against Alabama!"

Senior Sadie Hammond
"I'm so proud of the team and the way we handled ourselves after losing the doubles point. The specific work we put in this week showed up in singles. We fought, we scrapped, we stepped up when the pressure was on and we got the win. We are stronger together and we played as one this afternoon."

RESULTS
No. 18 Tennessee 4, No. 49 Auburn 2

Singles
1️. #85 Sadie Hammond (UT) def. #91 Jaeda Daniel (AU), 6-2, 6-1
2. Madeline Meredith (AU) def. Kaitlin Staines (UT), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
3️. Johanna Silva (UT) def. Taylor Russo (AU), 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
4️. Rebeka Mertena (UT) def. #113 Alannah Griffin (AU), 6-2, 6-1
5️. Ariadna Riley (UT) vs. Yu Chen (AU), 4-6, 7-6 (3), unfinished
6️. Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Caroline Turner (AU), 6-4, 6-2

Doubles
1️. Russo/Meredith (AU) vs. #6 Hammond/Staines (UT), 5-4, unfinished
2️. Chen/Griffin (AU) def. Haumuller/McGiffin (UT), 6-1
3️. Daniel/Song (AU) def. Mertena/Silva (UT), 6-3

Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3); Singles (4, 1, 6, 2, 3)