WTEN CENTRAL: NCAA Tournament First & Second Rounds

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the third consecutive year, the Tennessee women's tennis team is set to compete in the NCAA Tournament.

The Lady Vols (19-7), placed in the Raleigh Regional, are slated to face Southern Conference champion Furman (26-1) during the Round of 64 on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

On the other side of the Raleigh Regional, host school and No. 12 seed NC State (22-6) faces VCU (18-5) on Saturday at approximately 4 p.m. The winners of the two Saturday matches face off in the Round of 32 on Sunday at 2 p.m. The winner of the four-school region will advance to next weekend's Super Regionals.

Tennessee enters this season's NCAA Tournament coming off of its best season from a regular season wins standpoint since 2003 (19 wins). During a season that also included four top 25 victories, Tennessee won nine SEC matches, more than the previous three seasons combined.

The Lady Vols also concluded the regular season with a 14-3 home record, the most home wins for the program since the 1992 season.

For her efforts during Tennessee's season, Sadie Hammond was named All-SEC Second Team, while Rebeka Mertena was named to the All-Freshman Team.

This season's selection marks the third straight season that the Lady Vols have qualified for the NCAA Tournament – all under the direction of Alison Ojeda. Last season, Tennessee fell to Oregon in the first round, 4-2.

SCOUTING THE RALEIGH REGIONAL: Furman, winners of 23 matches in a row, enters the NCAA Tournament with a total of 26 victories – the most in program history.

The Paladins' regular season featured Power Five wins over Iowa and Penn State, as well as four total wins over two common opponents with the Lady Vols – Chattanooga and ETSU. Furman's lone loss came on Feb. 3 against Louisville.

NC State, the host school and No. 12 overall seed, boasts an impressive overall resume as well. The Wolfpack defeated Mississippi State, Florida and Texas Tech in non-conference play, in addition to going 11-3 against ACC competition.

The Wolfpack's first round opponent, VCU, won the Atlantic 10 championship after shutting out each of its opponents during the conference tournament.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Tennessee women's tennis program has been selected to the NCAA Tournament 27 times since the event changed to its present-day team format in 1979.

The Lady Vols are 32-26 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have reached the Sweet 16 or better 11 times.

HAMMOND, STAINES NAMED ALL-AMERICANS: On Tuesday of this week, Tennessee's No. 1 doubles team of Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines were named doubles All-Americans.

The duo, seeded eighth, will compete in the 32-team NCAA doubles bracket from May 20-25 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, after the conclusion of the NCAA team championship.

Hammond and Staines went 18-3 over the course of the spring in dual matches, all at the No. 1 spot in the lineup.

RANKED COMPETITION: The Raleigh Regional is slated to feature a total of six ranked singles players and three ranked doubles teams, which are listed below.

Singles
No. 10 Anna Rogers (NC State)
No. 62 Sadie Hammond (Tennessee)
No. 67 Katarina Kozarov (Furman)
No. 71 Alana Smith (NC State)
No. 77 Paola Delgado (VCU)
No. 124 Kaitlin Staines (Tennessee)

Doubles
No. 7 Alana Smith/Anna Rogers (NC State)
No. 9 Sadie Hammond/Kaitlin Staines (Tennessee)
No. 84 Katarina Kozarov/Julia Adams (Furman)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sadie Hammond

Rebeka Mertena

Kaitlin Staines

University of Tennessee Athletics