Tennessee women’s tennis couldn’t avenge last postseason’s defeat, falling to Texas A&M 4-2.
The No. 18 Lady Vols (8-5, 4-4 SEC) dropped their third straight match Friday as the No. 5 Aggies (15-3, 7-1 SEC) overcame a doubles point loss, claiming singles wins on courts 1, 2, 4 and 6 to win.
“The same thing we keep saying is, we’re right there,” Lady Vols head coach Alison Ojeda said after the loss. “But with that said, if we want to get to the finish line before our opponent does, we just need to go after it a little bit more.”
Tennessee picked up the doubles point with wins on courts 1 and 2.
On Court 3, Katrina Scott and Maeve Thornton fell to the Aggies’ Lexington Reed and Daria Smetannikov, 6-2. The Tennessee pair started out 2-0, but struggled from there, dropping six straight games.
Catherine Aulia and Leyla Britez Risso tied up the doubles session for the Lady Vols. The tandem stormed to a 4-0 lead against Violeta Martinez and Ilinca Amariei on Court 2, but their opponents would go on a streak of their own to tie up the match. Aulia and Britez Risso stayed composed and finished off the set strong, winning 6-4.
The doubles point came down to Vanesa Suarez and Francesca Mattioli against No. 8 Mia Kupres and Lucciana Perez on Court 1. Despite falling behind 2-4, the duo battled back to tie it at 5-5, then took the next two points to win 7-5 and clinch the doubles point for Tennessee.
“Overall, really good on one and two,” Ojeda said of her team’s doubles showing. “(Suarez and Mattioli) are arguably one of the best teams in the country, as long as their energy and enthusiasm suggests that from the very beginning.”
The Aggies tied up the dual to start singles as Reed defeated Catherine Aulia 6-1, 6-2. After starting the spring slate 6-1 in singles play, Aulia has now lost her last three singles matchups.
Tennessee retook the lead just moments later. No. 18 Britez Risso took down Amariei 6-1, 6-1, to move to 11-0 in singles play this spring.
Texas A&M tied it up again at 2-2 after Kupres bested Suarez in straight sets 6-2, 7-5 on Court 2.
“Vanesa is a big ball striker off of both sides, and as we carry on in the season, opponents know she’s coming at you,” Ojeda said. “We’re finding that they’re having more of a consistent mindset and seeing if she can just do it from start to finish. I know she’s capable of it, but I think she’s going to have to finish some points up at the net, instead of keep trying to win from the baseline.”
The Aggies then moved into a clinching position on Court 6, as Audrey Aulia fell to Smetannikov, 7-5, 6-4. Scott and Mattioli were the Lady Vols’ last hope on courts 1 and 5, and both had lost their first set.
Scott faced a daunting task in Perez, the nation’s No. 2 singles player. After a valiant effort to come back and force a tiebreaker in the first set, Scott ultimately fell in straight sets, 7(10)-6(8), 6-3. Texas A&M took the match.
“Katrina did a much better job controlling the point off of both sides, not just the backhand side, and so I thought her forehand looked loads better today,” Ojeda said.
Mattioli was tied 4-4 in her second set after losing 7(9)-6(7) in her first frame.
The Lady Vols are in the midst of a tough stretch against some of the best teams in the SEC, and that challenge doesn’t let up for the rest of the season.
“Truly, every team in our conference is really, really good,” Ojeda said. “As long as we continue to be eager to compete, we’re going to be in a great place. You just can’t get defeated by the little things.”
The Lady Vols lose their third straight and move to 4-4 in conference play. Hoping to break the streak, they travel to face No. 7 Texas on Sunday, March 22, at 1 p.m. ET.
