The Lady Vols made a statement to begin their season Saturday, cruising over Wake Forest 6-1.

The win marks the 10th straight season that Tennessee women’s tennis has started its dual season with a victory, a streak that goes back to Alison Ojeda’s first year as head coach. The Lady Vols are also undefeated against the Demon Deacons during that span, beating them seven times. Saturday’s match began with the No. 16 Lady Vols earning the doubles point.

The senior duo of Cat Aulia and Leyla Britez Risso defeated Wake Forest’s Krystal Blanch and Jingyi Li 6-1. Maeve Thornton and Saray Yli-Piipari finished off Aubrey Nisbet and Evie Oxford 6-1, clinching the doubles point for Tennessee.

Aulia and Britez Risso continue their run as one of the best duos in women’s collegiate tennis.
Last season, the pair went 16-4 overall and 10-1 in conference play. A preseason ITA poll ranked them as the No. 15 doubles team in the country.

In singles play, Tennessee’s Vanesa Suarez began with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Nevena Carton. The senior improved her all-time singles record to 44-41. Francesca Mattioli followed in her teammate’s lead, winning by the exact same margin over Kady Tannenbaum, 6-1, 6-2.

Cat Aulia gave the Lady Vols their fourth point of the day to take the match. After winning a hard-fought set 6-4, she didn’t look back and won the second set 6-1 to take down Heidi Bulger.

Leyla Britez Risso went on to defeat Krystal Blanch 6-2, 7-5, adding to the Lady Vols’ margin of victory. Wake Forest’s Sankavi Gownder provided the Demon Deacons with their only point of the day, taking down Elim Yan 6-2, 1-6, 6-1.

Saray Yli-Piipari finished off the action, coming back from an early deficit to win the first set against Evie Oxford 6-4. After dropping the second set 4-6, she won the tiebreaker, and the final score for the No. 16 Lady Vols was a resounding 6-1.

The Lady Vols will head into the ITA Kick-off Weekend with a win under their belt. They face Clemson next Saturday, Jan. 24, at 1 p.m. ET.