Scott Bests #1 as Lady Vols Defeat Longhorns, 4-2

Sunday, March 22

Austin, Texas

1 p.m. ET

University of Tennessee

Texas

March 22, 2026 | Women's Tennis

Box Score (PDF)

AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 18 University of Tennessee women's tennis team (9-5, 5-4) defeated the No. 7 Texas Longhorns (12-4, 7-2) at the Texas Tennis Center Sunday. The Lady Vols won the doubles point and earned singles wins on courts one, two and four to earn the upset victory.

"I'm so proud of our team," Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. "We were very mature from start to finish today and that's exactly what our goal was."

The Lady Vols opened the afternoon with a 1-0 lead in the dual, winning the doubles points via set wins on courts three and two. On the former, the Tennessee tandem of Katrina Scott and Maeve Thornton earned a 6-3 set win over the Longhorns' Herea/Ngijol-Carre duo.

On court two, Lady Vol senior duo Catherine Aulia/Leyla Britez Risso defeated Texas' Ionescu/McNeil team, 7-5. UT's team faced match point at 4-5, but earned two breaks to win the set.

In singles play, though, the Longhorns opened in dominant fashion, winning five first sets. They would then claim court six via a 6-2, 6-0 score to tie the dual at one point apiece.

The lone Lady Vol to win her first set, Scott would be the next off the court, defeating the No. 1 singles player in the nation, Carmen Herea. Scott won a contentious 7-6 (8-6) tiebreaker first set, then parlayed her momentum into a 6-2 showing in the second stanza to claim the win, handing the Lady Vols their second dual point.

The win over ITA's No. 1 ranked player is her third ranked singles win of the season.

Despite the slow start to singles, the Lady Vols fought back, claiming three second sets on those five courts. On court two, Vanesa Suarez dropped her first set by a lop-sided 1-6 margin but showed life in a 6-4 showing in the second stanza. She earned a 6-2 third set win to seal court two for the Lady Vols and give her team a third dual point. She defeated No. 12 Anastasia Abbagnato to earn her top ranked singles victory of the season.

Senior Catherine Aulia sealed the dual for the Lady Vols with a win on court four. Like Suarez, she dropped a 1-6 decision in her first set. She found herself behind in set two, but managed to claw back and force a tiebreak game. She would win her second set 7-6 (7-2), and continue to a strong 6-2 showing in the third set to put the 4-2 win for the Lady Vols on ice.

"This sport demands focus for 2 out of 3 sets, and until the match is over, there is always something we can do to help improve our own performance," Ojeda remarked. "That's exactly what Cat and Vanesa did on their two courts."

"I am super proud of all the girls today," Catherine Aulia said. "The way we were able to battle, across the board, and be who we know we are as a team was amazing to see. We came across a team that is very talented and we were able to stick it out through the tough moments to get over the line today!"

UP NEXT:
The Lady Vols will head home to host Bellarmine in a mid-week affair on Wednesday, March 25. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. ET.