The No. 15 University of Tennessee women’s tennis team lost to the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, 4-0, in Athens on April 4.
This match marked the last regular season road contest for Tennessee, who now holds an overall record of 11-8 and a conference record of 6-7. The loss comes as the team prepares for the upcoming postseason.
“I’m really proud of the way our team came out and competed today,” Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. “Georgia is a very good team, and we showed ourselves once again that we are right there with them.
“At some point, in the very near future, our team needs to be ready to take that next step,” Ojeda continued. “Because every team we compete against is really good, and our entire conference just keeps beating up on each other. Which, ultimately, does help us get better, but it’s also pretty emotionally and physically taxing, so as we near the postseason, we need to get to a place where we’re ready to take that next step forward and go make a run.”
Georgia secured an early lead by winning doubles matches on courts two and three. Meanwhile, Lady Vols Francesca Mattioli and Vanesa Suarez were ahead on court one but did not finish their set before doubles play concluded. In singles action, Tennessee initially took leads on five courts but was unable to convert those advantages into wins as Georgia claimed victories on courts two (Aysegul Mert defeating Suarez), six (Patricija Paukstyte coming back from behind), and five (Emma Dong overcoming an early deficit). With these results clinching the match for Georgia at 4-0, remaining singles matches were suspended.
Looking ahead, Tennessee will return home for its final two regular season matches against Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday at 5 p.m., followed by LSU Tigers on Saturday at noon. These events will also serve as senior weekend for three athletes being honored.
