Lady Vols Start Strong at Michigan Invitational

Friday, January 17

Ann Arbor, Mich.

10 a.m.

University of Tennessee

Michigan Invitational

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2020.01.12 - Tennessee vs. North Alabama

Photo by: Maury Neipris/Tennessee Athletics

January 17, 2020 | Women's Tennis

By: Ricky Martinez

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 22 Tennessee women's tennis team completed the opening day of the Michigan Invitational on Friday.

The Lady Vols (2-0) opened with singles play against TCU, winning four of six matches.

No. 76-ranked Rebeka Mertena defeated Mercedes Aristegui, 6-2, 6-2, to improve to 15-9 in her sophomore season. Senior Johanna Silva then earned a three-set win over Stevie Kennedy, 0-6, 6-1, 1-0 (6), to improve to 7-2.

Lady Vols freshmen Hadley Doyle and Carly Briggs continued their strong start to their collegiate careers. Doyle defeated Margaret Polk in straight sets (6-1, 6-2), and Briggs got the win in three sets (3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (5)) over Chloe Hule. Both Doyle and Briggs now hold perfect 3-0 marks in singles.

Following singles play, three Lady Vol duos competed in a round of doubles with Ohio State, and one pair competed against a Michigan duo.

The No. 15-ranked team of Kaitlin Staines and Tenika McGiffin opened the spring season with a 6-1 win over Ohio State's Kolie Allen and Isabelle Boulais.

Julie Ball and Silva paired together for the first time in their careers to defeat Michigan's Lanie Van Linge and Lera Patiuk, 6-3.

The Lady Vols continue the Michigan Invitational on Saturday, beginning with a round of doubles at 1 p.m. ET against TCU, with a round of singles against Michigan to follow.

Singles vs. TCU
Rebeka Mertena (Tennessee) d. Mercedes Aristegui (TCU), 6-2, 6-2
Kate Paulus (TCU) d. Tenika McGiffin (Tennessee), 4-6, 7-6, 1-0 (7)
Johanna Silva (Tennessee) d. Stevie Kennedy (TCU), 0-6, 6-1, 1-0 (6)
Hadley Doyle (Tennessee) d. Margaret Polk (TCU), 6-1, 6-2
Carly Briggs (Tennessee) d. Chloe Hule (TCU), 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (5)
Marie Norris (TCU) d. Callie Creath (Tennessee), 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (8)

Doubles vs. Ohio State/Michigan
Danielle Wolf/Kathleen Jones (Ohio State) d. Carly Briggs/Ariadna Riley (Tennessee), 6-2
Kaitlin Staines/Tenika McGiffin (Tennessee) d. Kolie Allen/Isabelle Boulais (Ohio State), 6-1
Irina Cantos Siemers/Shiori Fukuda (Ohio State) d. Hadley Doyle/Rebeka Mertena (Tennessee), 7-6 (1)
Julie Ball/Johanna Silva (Tennessee) d. Lanie Van Linge/Lera Patiuk(Michigan), 6-3