Tennessee women’s tennis found its groove early against Missouri and cruised to a 4-0 victory.
The No. 12 Lady Vols (11-6, 6-5 SEC) handed the Tigers (11-13, 0-11 SEC) their fourth straight loss Sunday, claiming the doubles point and singles wins on courts 1, 3 and 6.
“Missouri wants to win,” head coach Alison Ojeda said. “At every spot, they’re coming out competing hard and wanting to put balls on the court. Sometimes shot selection looks a bit different at times, so you have to be ready to go from the very beginning, and our team was.”
Katrina Scott and Maeve Thornton began doubles play with a 6-2 win over Andrea Artimedi and Alex Ackman on Court 3. The Tennessee pair have steadily built up their chemistry over the course of the season and have now won four straight doubles matches as a tandem.
“We know how each of us feels and thinks, and our communication is so much better,” Thornton said. “We know how to help each other, and she helps me a lot. She’s so confident, and that rubs off on me.”
Vanesa Suarez and Francesca Mattioli brought home the doubles point for the Lady Vols, surging from a 2-2 tie to a 6-2 win over Lara Quaglia and Gian Octa on Court 1. It’s Tennessee’s sixth straight doubles point win.
“The big thing with us right now is first serve percentage and returns in court,” Ojeda said. “If we do those two things, we know the way we play doubles, it’s going to be a very short point. So that’s the goal in doubles right now, and the rest will take care of itself.”
Catherine Aulia and Leyla Britez Risso also battled, down 5-4 after falling behind 2-0 to start their match.
The Lady Vols quickly rattled off two singles wins. Britez Risso rolled to a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Ackman on Court 3, then Scott put out a dominant showing on Court 1, taking down Octa by the same score to put Tennessee in a clinching position.
“An excellent job from (Scott) and (Britez Risso) just to get on and off the court,” Ojeda said.
From there, it became a race to be the first to clinch. Thornton won the race, taking down Zoe Lazar in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 on Court 6 to give Tennessee the victory. Thornton is now 2-0 in singles this spring after getting the chance to play against Bellarmine on Wednesday.
“Oh, it’s been super fun,” Thornton said. “I’m just happy to be able to help my team, and be out there competing and just giving my all for Tennessee.”
Aulia nearly beat her teammate to the punch. After falling behind to Artimedi in the first set 4-2, she rallied to claim the next seven games and sat up 5-1 in the second set when Thornton clinched.
“(Ojeda) was really helpful with that. She kind of just told me to try to get the ball deeper,” Aulia said. “The girl was playing well, but I just tried to focus on myself and commit to how I wanted to play.”
Suarez held a 4-3 lead on Court 2 after claiming her first set 6-2, and Audrey Aulia possessed a 2-0 cushion after winning a back-and-forth set 7-5.
As the regular season winds down, with one road trip and one homestand remaining, the Lady Vols are looking to peak at the right time.
“We know that we’re a really good team,” Catherine Aulia said. “And so we just try to get better every match, and then hopefully, when it comes in May, that everyone is playing their best.”
The Lady Vols split the weekend homestand and moved to 6-5 in conference play. They head on the road for a matchup with No. 27 South Carolina on April 2 at 5 p.m. EST.
