STILLWATER, Okla. – The 16th-seeded Tennessee women’s tennis team excelled in the NCAA quarterfinals, knocking off No. 8-seeded UCLA in a 4-3 victory Friday night at Greenwood Tennis Center. Tennessee is the lowest seed to ever reach the semifinals since the berth of the 64-team era in 1999.
The Lady Volunteers are headed to the Final Four for the second time in program history, mirroring the success of the 2002 squad. The 2002 team acquired a stellar 4-3 triumph against VCU on May 17, 2002, at Stanford.
“I’m so incredibly happy and proud,” head coach Alison Ojeda said. “We have said for this entire year that there is just something really special about this group. Not only are they good, but they have this togetherness that allows them to elevate each other’s performance. That’s what you guys saw tonight from start to finish. I couldn’t be more excited for these guys.”
Tennessee (22-7, 9-4 SEC) dropped the doubles point, unable to conquer UCLA (21-6, 9-1 Pac-12). The pair of Lauren Anzalotta and Catherine Aulia were the only pair to etch a doubles victory, downing Ahmani Guichard and Sasha Vagramov, 6-4. Esther Adeshina and Alana Wolfberg fought to uphold a double-break lead at 3-0 but ultimately fell 6-7 (2) against No. 42 Kimmi Hance and Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer. The doubles finale came down to a tiebreak, the No. 11-ranked tandem of Sofia Cabezas and Elza Tomase lost in a 6-7 (3) contest versus the No. 13-ranked pair of Tian Fangran and Elise Wagle.
After falling to a 1-0 deficit, the Big Orange showed off perseverance and posted four singles wins to secure the match. Wolfberg was the first to post a win, she overcame four break points up 4-3 in the second set to hold serve. The senior fired off a 6-0, 6-3 final line against No. 73 Bianca Fernandez. Tomase added a triumph against No. 27 Kimmi Hance in 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 fashion. Aulia collected a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory versus Elise Wagler. After losing the first set, Aulia won 12 of her final 15 games.
The match came down to No. 14 Cabezas in a three-set monster contest against No. 32 Tian Fangram. The senior lost the battle in the first set but bounced back to beat the reigning NCAA Singles Champion, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3. The first five games of the third set on court one were all breaks, the first of those three went to deuce points.
“I’m just so proud of my team,” senior Cabezas said. “I won the last point, but this was a team effort. I did it for them. I love playing for them. This is huge. I love the team effort. It’s special. I just want to keep playing longer. I want to keep playing with my teammates. I want to keep playing and having fun. I just can’t wait to compete again tomorrow (Saturday).
Two Lady Vols yielded losses in singles play. Anzalotta fell in a 2-6, 2-6 battle against Ahamni Guichard. Adeshina dropped her match to Ahamanu Guichard 2-6, 6-4, 2-6.
