The Lady Vols took care of business in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating Murray State in a clean 4-0 sweep Saturday afternoon.
The regular season was a successful one for the No. 16 Lady Vols (19-7), earning them a top-16 seed. They were able to use that seed to their advantage as they defeated Murray State (17-6).
“It’s a privilege,” senior Esther Adeshina said. “The first couple of years we didn’t get to host. It’s tough when you’re the team on the road playing those first two rounds, so being able to host is great. Sleeping in our own beds, being in front of the home fans is nice.”
The Lady Vols continued to dominate the opening round of doubles, which has been a theme all season long. In their 26 total games, the Lady Vols have only dropped four doubles points.
“In my mind, we have got to go get four out of six singles every time we step out on the court,” Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. “We’ve done a great job playing doubles, no question about it. The big thing is when you get the doubles point, it allows us as a team to breathe. It can also allow your opponent to come out on fire.”
The doubles matches seemed to fly by, with every court in total command by the Lady Vols. No. 11 Sofia Cabezas and Elza Tomase led the charge on Court 1 and defeated their opponents, 6-2.
They were followed by the duo of Catherine Aulia and Lauren Anzalotta. They took the win at Court 3, 6-1.
Singles brought the best out of the Lady Vols Saturday. After starting slow in doubles, Alana Wolfberg got the ball rolling, dominating her opponent, 6-1, 6-0. Leyla Britez Risso followed with another two-set win.
Despite what Adeshina described as nerves, she was the one to deliver the game-clinching point, defeating Marit Kreugel in just two sets, 6-2, 6-1.
“Just coming out with the same energy,” Adeshina said. “Me and Alana were a bit nervous at the start. We got it going, but we need to do it from the start.”
Anzalotta and Tomase were in control of their matches, but they ended unfinished. No. 14 Cabezas dropped the first set and won the first game of the second set when the match was stopped.
“Murray State played well. We knew they would,” Adeshina said. “So I’m glad they pushed us on a few courts, but I’m also glad we took care of business.”
Despite seeing limited time this season and being shifted in and out of the lineup, Britez Risso sports a record of 9-1 in singles play this season.
“We’ve got five seniors, and all of them have been to the tournament every year, so it’s really good experience,” Ojeda said. “With that said, we’ve always wanted to win, but now it’s a reality. We can go out there and win every match we play. We want to keep playing as a team, and we believe as long as we’re playing well we can continue in the tournament.”
