Katrina Scott is no stranger to the big stage.
She’s faced world top 100 opponents in high-level tennis tournaments. And yet, she’s never experienced clinching a collegiate match in front of a true home crowd.
Until now.
Scott won her singles match against No. 23 Carolina Gomez Alonso, clinching a Tennessee sweep over Arkansas. Scott and her doubles partner Catherine Aulia also delivered the doubles point for the Lady Vols. All the while, the Tennessee fans cheered her on, even after rain forced the matches to be paused and resumed indoors.
“It’s definitely something that I’m not used to,” Scott said. “It’s just such a competitive spirit, and you have fans that are riding so hard for you, so I think I really embraced it today.”
Scott signed with the Lady Vols in January and competed in her first collegiate dual on Feb. 26 at Mississippi State. She immediately slotted into the court one matchup on singles, and delivered a 6-0, 6-3 win that day.
Scott and the No. 7 Lady Vols came home to face No. 19 Oklahoma on March 6. After Tennessee dropped the doubles point, Scott found herself in a marathon in singles on court one. After winning the first set 6-2 and losing the second 6-1, she held a lead in the third but couldn’t finish, losing 6-4. Tennessee went on to lose the match 4-3 after Vanesa Suarez couldn’t complete the comeback.
For Lady Vols head coach Alison Ojeda, the way Scott and her teammates would respond to such a loss was crucial, and Aulia stepped up to help her new doubles partner.
“You had Katrina, who felt awful, and Vanesa, who felt awful,” Ojeda said. “So we had Cat as one of our seniors remind them that this is nobody’s fault. The reality is, we’re all in it together.”
Aulia’s presence is a big factor for Scott.
“She’s someone who I really look up to on this team, and she’s such an amazing teammate,” Scott said. “Even after I lost, she was so supportive, and she could tell how down I was on myself.”
Heading into Sunday’s match against Arkansas, Aulia’s leadership proved key, as she and Scott teamed up again on court two. Aulia provided the strategy, and Scott helped her execute it.
“When we stepped on that court, she goes, ‘we’re serving T, and you’re gonna stand here,’” Scott said. “I just have full trust in her, that she knows exactly what she’s doing, and I’m going to follow her to whatever she wants to do.”
That trust led the duo to come back from down a point and clinch the doubles tally against the Razorbacks, 7-5. Ojeda attributed Scott and Aulia’s win to increasing communication and chemistry.
“Katrina obviously is an outstanding tennis player, but with doubles, it does take some time to figure out your partner’s tendencies,” Ojeda said. “Does she like to take this forehand line or cross when she’s in those positions? Does she want to go finish that high backhand volley? There’s little things that are just different.”
From there, Scott moved on to singles, where she and her teammates dominated the Razorbacks. After Suarez and Leyla Britez Risso won their singles matches on courts two and three, Scott blanked Gomez Alonso 6-0 in the first set and rode the momentum to take the second set 6-3 and clinch the dual for the Lady Vols.
“Especially after we had a tough match on Friday, I think it was really important for us to come together,” Scott said. “And then it felt good to get the clinch for my team, because that’s never happened for me before.”
As Scott gets more chances to compete in front of the Lady Vols fans this season, she hopes that they get to know her competitive fire.
“I’m really feisty,” Scott said. “I think people can start to see a little bit that I really fight. I’m never going to give up or stop trying. I’ll die trying on that tennis court.”
