University of Tennessee Athletics
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Texas Tech
Women’s Tennis Central: #18 Tennessee to Host ITA Kickoff Weekend
January 23, 2025 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 18 Tennessee women's tennis team is gearing up to host the ITA Kickoff Weekend, featuring Tennessee, No. 15 Ohio State, Texas Tech and No. 10 NC State. The Lady Vols were selected to be one of 14 host sites, due to their successful 2024 campaign. The squad will be competing for a spot in the 2025 ITA Indoor Championships, hosted by Illinois and Northwestern, from Feb. 7-11.
Per the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, Tennessee will enter the weekend as the No. 1 seed, Ohio State as the No. 2 seed, NC State as the No. 3 seed and Texas Tech as the No. 4 seed. Ohio State will take on NC State on Friday at 1 p.m., while Tennessee will face Texas Tech on Friday at 4 p.m. The winners of the first round of matches will play in the championship on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The losers of the first round will meet in the consolation match on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Lady Vols (2-0) are aiming to build off of their opening weekend success, as UT took a pair of wins against Wake Forest and East Carolina. Junior Leyla Britez Risso led the team with two singles wins and a doubles victory on the weekend. Junior Maeve Thornton, junior Vanesa Suarez, and freshmen Conley Raidt and Saray Yli-Piipari each earned wins during their Tennessee debuts.
Live stats can be found here and a live stream for the weekend can be accessed here.
Lady Vols in the Rankings:
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced on Jan. 22 that the squad is No. 18 in the second poll of 2025. The following members of the team were ranked in the final fall ITA individual poll posted on Dec. 3, 2024:
Singles
No. 10 Elza Tomase
No. 19 Catherine Aulia
No. 54 Vanesa Suarez
No. 106 Leyla Britez Risso
Doubles
No. 29 Elza Tomase & Catherine Aulia
Scouting the Buckeyes: Tennessee leads the all-time series against Ohio State, 16-6. The last time the two squads met was on Jan. 28, 2023, when the Buckeyes posted a 4-2 victory against Tennessee in Columbus, Ohio. The Lady Vols are 0-5 in their last five meetings against OSU. The Buckeyes will travel three players ranked in singles.
Ohio State Rankings:
Singles
No. 8 Luciana Perry
No. 46 Audrey Spencer
No. 84 Sydni Ratliff
Scouting the Wolfpack: NC State leads the all-time series, 6-5, with the Lady Vols posting a 2-1 record in Knoxville. Tennessee's last victory came against NC State on Feb 15, 2018, in a 4-3 affair in Raleigh, N.C. NC State will bring one ranked singles player and two ranked doubles tandems to Knoxville.
NC State Rankings:
Singles
No. 55 Gabia Paskauskas
Doubles
No. 5 Maddy Zampardo & Gabriella Broadfoot
No. 60 Kristina Paskauskas & Jasmine Conway
Scouting the Red Raiders: The Lady Vols will play their first-ever contest against the Red Raiders on Friday evening. Texas Tech will bring four ranked doubles pairs to Knoxville.
Texas Tech Rankings:
Doubles
No. 15 Avelina Sayfetdinova & Mariia Hlahola
No. 33 Andreea Lila & Jermine Sherif
No. 57 Mariia Hlahola & Hailey Murphy
No. 67 Andreea Lila & Yekaterina Dmitrichenko
A full schedule for ITA Kickoff Weekend can be found below.
Friday:
Ohio State vs. NC State - 1:00 p.m.
Tennessee vs. Texas Tech - 4:00 p.m.
Saturday:
Women's Championship - 3:30 p.m.
Women's Consolation - 6:00 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
