University of Tennessee Athletics
Sunday, March 6
Knoxville, TN
12 PM
University of Tennessee
5
vs
2
Ole Miss
Doubles Comeback Fuels #23 Lady Vols to Victory over Ole Miss
March 06, 2022 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE – Thanks to a massive come-from-behind victory on Court 2 to win the doubles point, the No. 23 Tennessee women's tennis team bested No. 46 Ole Miss, 5-2, Sunday afternoon at Barksdale Stadium.
After eighth-ranked Daria Kuczer and Tenika McGiffin took care of business on Court 1, 6-1, and the Lady Vols dropped the match on Court 3, 3-6, all eyes turned to Court 2. Esther Adeshina and Elza Tomase trailed 5-2 and the doubles point seemed almost out of reach. The resilient duo clawed back into the match, fending off four match-points and pushing the dual with Ole Miss' Kelsey Mize and Anaelle Leclercq to a tiebreaker.
With the energy from the 312 fans filling the stands of Barksdale Stadium behind them, Adeshina and Tomase owned the tiebreak, only dropping one point to win the match 7-6(1) and clinch a critical doubles point and the momentum for Tennessee (8-2, 2-0 SEC).
"First, I want to thank our fans for coming out and supporting us, you guys were outstanding today," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "We got that doubles point and I am certain (the fans) helped us get it, because when the fans got engaged, Esther and Elza just embraced it and raised their level of play."
Both Adeshina and Tomase capitalized on the momentum from the doubles win in their respective singles matches. Tomase was able to hold control of the match, defeating Ludmila Kareisova, 6-2, 6-4. Adeshina came out hot, riding the energy from doubles. That mojo faded a tad in the second frame, but she retook the flow of the match, securing a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Reka Zadori.
"I definitely had a lot of energy in the first set of the singles match," sophomore Esther Adeshina said. "I was playing my game, serving well and doing all the right things. The second set she changed her game a bit, but the third set I regrouped, refocused and managed to pull it out by coming to the net and putting more pressure on her."
The first Lady Vol to finish in singles has been very familiar to the win column this spring, Eleonora Molinaro. The sophomore handled her business on Court 6, overcoming the late substitution into Ole Miss' lineup, Elysia Pool, 6-2, 6-1.
"Ole Miss is an outstanding team, very well coached, so I knew that deflated feeling they had at the start of singles would not last very long," Ojeda continued. "That's exactly what you saw, they pushed through and started playing at a high level and pushed us on every single court. Credit to our team for staying with it and sticking through some of the ugliness, so to speak, of today's environment and maintaining that grit."
Daria Kuczer embodied that gritty fight, battling for every point in the first set of her match on court five. She and Rachel Krzyzak went to a tiebreak in the first set, where Kuczer kept the pressure on to win 7-6(3). After nabbing the first stanza, she found her flow, finding spot after spot on the court. The precision of her play led to a quick 6-2 second-set victory to take the match.
Full results from the match can be found below.
UP NEXT
The Lady Vols take the road to face South Carolina and Florida next weekend. Tennessee will face the Gamecocks at 5 p.m. at the Carolina Tennis Center. The Big Orange will then venture south to take on the 13th-ranked Gators on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Gainesville.
FOUR-STRAIGHT
The Lady Vols have now won their last four matchups with Ole Miss and are undefeated at home against the Rebels in the Ojeda era.
#23 Tennessee 5, #46 Ole Miss 2
Singles
1. #105 Sabina Machalova (OM) def. #39 Tenika McGiffin (TENN) 7-5, 6-7, 1-0
2. Anaelle Leclercq (OM) def. #30 Rebeka Mertena (TENN) 7-6, 2-6, 7-6
3. #57 Elza Tomase (TENN) def. Ludmila Kareisova (OM) 6-2, 6-4
4. Esther Adeshina (TENN) def. Reka Zadori (OM) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
5. Daria Kuczer (TENN) def. Rachel Krzyzak (OM) 7-6, 6-2
6. Eleonora Molinaro (TENN) def. Elysia Pool (OM) 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6,3,5,4,1,2
Doubles
1. #8 Tenika McGiffin/Daria Kuczer (TENN) def. Sabina Machalova/Rachel Krzyzak (OM) 6-1
2. Elza Tomase/Esther Adeshina (TENN) def. Kelsey Mize/Anaelle Leclercq (OM) 7-6
3. Ludmila Kareisova/Lillian Gabrielsen (OM) def. Eleonora Molinaro/Rebeka Mertena (TENN) 6-3
Order of Finish: 1,3,2
After eighth-ranked Daria Kuczer and Tenika McGiffin took care of business on Court 1, 6-1, and the Lady Vols dropped the match on Court 3, 3-6, all eyes turned to Court 2. Esther Adeshina and Elza Tomase trailed 5-2 and the doubles point seemed almost out of reach. The resilient duo clawed back into the match, fending off four match-points and pushing the dual with Ole Miss' Kelsey Mize and Anaelle Leclercq to a tiebreaker.
With the energy from the 312 fans filling the stands of Barksdale Stadium behind them, Adeshina and Tomase owned the tiebreak, only dropping one point to win the match 7-6(1) and clinch a critical doubles point and the momentum for Tennessee (8-2, 2-0 SEC).
"First, I want to thank our fans for coming out and supporting us, you guys were outstanding today," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "We got that doubles point and I am certain (the fans) helped us get it, because when the fans got engaged, Esther and Elza just embraced it and raised their level of play."
Both Adeshina and Tomase capitalized on the momentum from the doubles win in their respective singles matches. Tomase was able to hold control of the match, defeating Ludmila Kareisova, 6-2, 6-4. Adeshina came out hot, riding the energy from doubles. That mojo faded a tad in the second frame, but she retook the flow of the match, securing a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Reka Zadori.
"I definitely had a lot of energy in the first set of the singles match," sophomore Esther Adeshina said. "I was playing my game, serving well and doing all the right things. The second set she changed her game a bit, but the third set I regrouped, refocused and managed to pull it out by coming to the net and putting more pressure on her."
The first Lady Vol to finish in singles has been very familiar to the win column this spring, Eleonora Molinaro. The sophomore handled her business on Court 6, overcoming the late substitution into Ole Miss' lineup, Elysia Pool, 6-2, 6-1.
"Ole Miss is an outstanding team, very well coached, so I knew that deflated feeling they had at the start of singles would not last very long," Ojeda continued. "That's exactly what you saw, they pushed through and started playing at a high level and pushed us on every single court. Credit to our team for staying with it and sticking through some of the ugliness, so to speak, of today's environment and maintaining that grit."
Daria Kuczer embodied that gritty fight, battling for every point in the first set of her match on court five. She and Rachel Krzyzak went to a tiebreak in the first set, where Kuczer kept the pressure on to win 7-6(3). After nabbing the first stanza, she found her flow, finding spot after spot on the court. The precision of her play led to a quick 6-2 second-set victory to take the match.
Full results from the match can be found below.
UP NEXT
The Lady Vols take the road to face South Carolina and Florida next weekend. Tennessee will face the Gamecocks at 5 p.m. at the Carolina Tennis Center. The Big Orange will then venture south to take on the 13th-ranked Gators on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Gainesville.
FOUR-STRAIGHT
The Lady Vols have now won their last four matchups with Ole Miss and are undefeated at home against the Rebels in the Ojeda era.
#23 Tennessee 5, #46 Ole Miss 2
Singles
1. #105 Sabina Machalova (OM) def. #39 Tenika McGiffin (TENN) 7-5, 6-7, 1-0
2. Anaelle Leclercq (OM) def. #30 Rebeka Mertena (TENN) 7-6, 2-6, 7-6
3. #57 Elza Tomase (TENN) def. Ludmila Kareisova (OM) 6-2, 6-4
4. Esther Adeshina (TENN) def. Reka Zadori (OM) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
5. Daria Kuczer (TENN) def. Rachel Krzyzak (OM) 7-6, 6-2
6. Eleonora Molinaro (TENN) def. Elysia Pool (OM) 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6,3,5,4,1,2
Doubles
1. #8 Tenika McGiffin/Daria Kuczer (TENN) def. Sabina Machalova/Rachel Krzyzak (OM) 6-1
2. Elza Tomase/Esther Adeshina (TENN) def. Kelsey Mize/Anaelle Leclercq (OM) 7-6
3. Ludmila Kareisova/Lillian Gabrielsen (OM) def. Eleonora Molinaro/Rebeka Mertena (TENN) 6-3
Order of Finish: 1,3,2
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
123
Sabina Machalova / 0 (105/-) [OM]
761
570
#2 Singles Match
123
Anaelle Leclercq / 0 [OM]
727
666
#3 Singles Match
12
Ludmila Kareisova / 0 [OM]
24
66
#4 Singles Match
123
Reka Zadori / 0 [OM]
362
626
#5 Singles Match
12
Rachel Krzyzak / 0 [OM]
62
76
#6 Singles Match
12
Elysia Pool / 0 [OM]
21
66
Order of Finish:
6,5,4,3,1,2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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