The Lady Vols tennis program made its mark on campus last season. Besides the 2024 College World Series champions, no team reached further in the postseason than Alison Ojeda’s team, who defied the odds and reached the Final Four with an upset over No. 1 Oklahoma State.
But that chapter is over, and the calendar has flipped over to 2025. The roster has seen a bit of a turnaround as well with five players from last year’s roster graduating, including four frequent starters — such as last season’s breakout star Sofia Cabezas.
Left standing from last season’s team remains Senior Elza Tomase, Junior Catherine Aulia, and junior Leyla Britez-Risso.
Joining the three veterans include a transfer from Kansas State, Vanessa Suarez, and three freshman recruits from what should be a nice incoming class for Ojeda.
“It feels great to be back out here,” Ojeda said. “And even with the performance, this honestly feels good. Sometimes you have to remind yourself it’s October and we have a lot of learning left to do.”
Lineups are far from set, but events such as the Goodfriend Invitational help give some extra insight before the season kicks into high gear. An important note is junior Catherine Aulia, a usual starter, received a weekend of rest to explain her inactivity.
Friday’s action saw Tomase’s strong offseason continue. She defeated Ana Zamburek 6-4, 6-1. She was joined by Britez-Risso, Suarez, freshman Conley Raidt and sophomore Maeve Thornton in the victory column for singles.
Saturday’s singles matchups featured a similar look from Friday with Elza once again running Court 1. Following the senior was once again Suarez, Britez-Risso, and freshman Saray Yli-Piipari.
Britez-Risso was one of the few odd ones out last season in a crowded room of talent, but with the departure of the senior class, she is ready to take the next step.
“I think that she’s going to continue to do great,” Ojeda said. “But now it’s going to be every time she goes out and plays.”
Saturday, Britez-Risso matched up against Teah Chavez from Ohio State, and Britez-Risso handled Court 5 with ease. She won her match 6-0 and 6-1.
“Like Alison said, I didn’t feel like it was my best tennis, but I felt that I was very solid.” Britez-Risso said Friday. “I’ve been aiming for consistency in my matches, so it’s good.”
Britez-Risso was joined by Suarez who defeated Ohio State’s Audrey Spencer in three frames, scoring 7-5, 2-6 and 6-4.
Yli-Piipari capped off wins in the singles column for the Lady Vols when she defeated Aiya Nupbay out of Arizona State, scoring 6-4, 6-7 and 6-4.
Doubles kicked off after singles play, and the Lady Vols were featured in three courts for Saturday’s matchups.
The teams included Tomase and Suarez, Britez-Risso and Raidt as well as Thornton and Elim Yan.
Britez-Risso and Raidt’s duo experiment was not on its best game Saturday. The two dropped their match to Virginia by a score of 6-1. On Friday, the two were clicking after their victory over an Ohio State pairing of Shelly Bereznyak and Megan Basil, but were defeated just 24 hours later.
The doubles woes continued for the rest of the afternoon, the remaining two teams both dropped their matches to Virginia and Ohio State, respectively.
The action wraps up Sunday at Goodfriend Tennis Center with singles matches kicking off in the morning and doubles to follow right afterwards.
“I can’t stand losing, especially when we look like a team we’re all unfamiliar with,” Ojeda said. “So the message is finding clarity and understanding exactly who we are before we go and compete tomorrow.”
