The Lady Vols may have felt rusty during their first match in two weeks, but they didn’t show it.
Tennessee women’s tennis cruised over Kentucky on Saturday, winning 4-0 to take their first match of the conference slate and move to 5-1 on the season. The Lady Vols, ranked No. 9 in the country, took the doubles point along with singles wins on Courts 3, 5 and 2 to clinch the match.
Maeve Thornton and Saray Yli-Piipari started off doubles hot for the Lady Vols on Court 3, taking down Kentucky’s Elena Molla and Marina Fuduric, 6-2. After quickly going up 3-1, they lost the next game but followed it up with three straight wins. While the other doubles matchups had more off-speed play forcing Kentucky into awkward spots on the court, Thornton and Yli-Piipari leaned on powerful swings and at-the-net play to defeat the Wildcats, unfazed by the velocity.
“I think we’re used to it because we practice that a lot,” Yli-Piipari said. “We love coming to the net, finishing points at the net.”
On Court 2, Francesca Mattioli and Vanesa Suarez got behind against Kentucky’s Asuncion Jadue and Reese Sager, but rallied to win four straight games and clinch the doubles point for Tennessee, winning 6-3. Suarez looked especially strong around the net, which has been a focus of improvement for Lady Vols head coach Alison Ojeda.
“In doubles for us, the mindset is, it’s a quick sprint,” Ojeda said. “We want to go after the ball as often as we can, and kind of get your nose on top of the net and finish.”
Catherine Aulia and Leyla Britez Risso were also ahead in their singles match 5-3 before Suarez and Mattioli clinched doubles for the Lady Vols.
Catherine Aulia was first off the court in singles play for the Lady Vols, quickly taking down Kentucky’s Reese Sager 6-3, 6-0. Aulia prevailed against the freshman Sager’s high-speed crosscourt shots to put Tennessee up 2-0 in the dual.
“If Cat didn’t have the experience under her belt that she has, then that would have been a lot closer of a tennis match,” Ojeda said. “But she understood how to manage her opponent’s weapon, and Cat’s just relentless.”
Next for Tennessee was Yli-Piipari, who stayed composed following her doubles victory to defeat Elena Molla 6-2, 6-2. Ojeda spent considerable time at Court 5 helping keep Yli-Piipari in the moment during her singles match.
“She does a really good job of understanding what she wants to do, but she’s a bit of a perfectionist at times,” Ojeda said. “So I wanted to kind of help understand where her mind was at during the in-match setting.”
Finally, just moments after Yli-Piipari put the Lady Vols up 3-0, Leyla Britez Risso clinched the sweep for Tennessee. She cruised over Kentucky’s Zoe Hammond in the first set, winning 6-0. In the second set, she fell behind 2-3, but battled back with four straight games to win 6-0, 6-3 and give the Lady Vols the win in the dual.
Britez Risso improves to 5-0 in singles play during the spring slate. Her success this season has been recognized, as she was ranked No. 25 nationally in the latest singles ranking.
“I think it starts from practice,” Britez Risso said. “We’ve been practicing really well, and with much intent.”
The remaining three courts were suspended with the match clinched for Tennessee. Vanesa Suarez was locked in a grueling first set against Julia Zhu, winning a tiebreaker and claiming the set 7(7)-6(5) just moments before Yli-Piipari and Britez Risso won their singles matches.
Francesca Mattioli and Audrey Aulia were also fighting hard for the Lady Vols before their teammates clinched. Mattioli had won her first set 6-0 and had fallen behind 1-5 against Asuncion Jadue in the second set, but battled back to 4-5. Aulia had lost her first set 7-5 and was tied in the second set 2-2.
The Lady Vols will head to Starkville to begin a short road stint, facing No. 26 Mississippi State on Thursday, Feb 26.
