No. 22 Lady Vols Defeat No. 19 Kansas

Friday, January 24

Lawrence, KS

1 p.m.

University of Tennessee

ITA Kick Off v Kansas

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2020.01.12 - Tennessee vs. North Alabama

Photo by: Maury Neipris/Tennessee Athletics

January 24, 2020 | Women's Tennis

Box Score Results

By: Ricky Martinez

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee freshman Carly Briggs defeated Kansas' Luniuska Delgado in three sets to lift No. 22 Tennessee past No. 19 Kansas on Friday, 4-2.

The Lady Vols improved to 3-0 with Friday's road win over a ranked opponent.

"Today was a team effort, and I'm really proud of our Lady Vols," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "Kansas is a good team who is athletic and well coached. We knew that playing them at home would be a battle, and it was. Our girls came out with a lot of energy and did a great job of playing solid tennis from start to finish. We've earned a shot at another top team tomorrow, and we're ready."

With the Lady Vols up 3-2, Briggs clinched the win for her team with a hard-fought 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory in No. 3 singles. Briggs improved to 5-1 to begin her collegiate career and is a perfect 2-0 in three-set matches.

To open the duel, UT (3-0) took the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Briggs and senior Ariadna Riley defeated KU's Carmen Roxana Manu and Maria Toran Ribes, 6-1. The No. 15-ranked Australian duo of Tennessee's Kaitlin Staines and Tenika McGiffin followed with a 6-2 triumph over the Jayhawk pair of Luniuska Delgado and Malkia Ngounoue.

The Lady Vols have taken the doubles point in all three of their matches to start the 2020 campaign.

No. 76-ranked UT sophomore Rebeka Mertena opened scoring in singles play for Tennessee, defeating KU's No. 93-ranked Ngounoue in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. The Lady Vol sophomore is undefeated in dual-match play and improved to 5-1 in the month of January.

Senior Johanna Silva claimed UT's third point with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Manu. Silva also is undefeated in the month of January and the win extended her season win streak to six matches.

McGiffin battled with KU's Vasiliki Karvouni for close to three full sets in singles play. The junior was leading 3-2 in the final set when Briggs clinched the match for the Lady Vols.

The Lady Vols play Virginia on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET in the Jayhawk Tennis Center.