Lady Vols Set for ITA Regionals

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee women's tennis team returns to action this weekend, competing in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships hosted by Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

The tournament will be played at the Adams Tennis Complex from Oct. 12-16, and admission is free for the event. Six Lady Vols will compete in the tournament in hopes of earning a bid to the inaugural Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.

"I'm excited for this weekend," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "I think Gabby Schuck and Johanna Silva are playing some of the best tennis I have ever seen them play. Ariadna Riley is as healthy as I have seen her. Tenika McGiffin is coming off a great start at Furman and is full of confidence and excitement. There's not a day that goes by where she isn't getting better. She is so athletic, coachable and intelligent. Same thing goes for Chelsea Sawyer. Sadie Hammond is a ball striker, and you never know when she is going to catch fire. If she does, you better hope you're not on the other side of the net.

"We are going to play Gabby and Sadie in doubles. They worked hard all last spring and have done a good job this fall. This tournament is about trying to qualify for the national event, and I want to make sure those two have an opportunity to play together and do that."

Thursday will begin with a round of doubles at 9:30 a.m. ET, followed by a round of singles at 11. The day will end with a second round of doubles, which is set to begin at 5:30.

Riley and Hammond earned first-round byes in the singles draw, being named the seventh and eighth seeds, respectively. Hammond and Schuck were also awarded a first-round bye in the doubles bracket as the fifth seed.

"We have put in a lot of hard work over the last month," said Schuck. "We have worked on our fitness, so we are ready for as many matches as we can get. The practices have consistently been at a high level. We are excited for the opportunity to compete and keep advancing."

In the Debbie Southern Fall Classic, McGiffin won her flight championship in singles to begin her collegiate career 3-0. Schuck had a strong outing, finishing runner-up in her flight championship.

"You have to keep building on it," Ojeda said about continuing the success from the first tournament. "We are further now than we were this time last year, so we are ahead of the curve. But at the same time, we still have a long way to go. In this day and age, it's a little hard to sell the process with out seeing the results. For the team to see results, it's awesome because they keep buying in and sticking with it. As a coach, you know that the process is what it is, and you can't rush experience. Had we not done well, we are still on the right track."

Since joining the Ohio Valley region in 2009, the Volunteers have accounted for six titles (3 singles, 3 doubles), with the most recent titles coming in 2012 when Kata Szekely won in singles and in doubles with Brynn Boren. In 2009, Natalie Pluskota and Caitlin Whoriskey advanced all the way to the finals of the National Indoor Championships after winning the region.

For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee women's tennis program, follow @Vol_WTennis on Twitter.

ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships

Doubles Round One
[9] McGiffin/Silva (UT) vs. ChiMa/Esguerra (ETSU)
[9] Riley/Sawyer (UT) vs. Belle/Montalvo (Eastern Kentucky)
[5] Hammond/Schuck (UT) earned a first-round bye

Singles Round One
[17] Gabby Schuck (UT) vs. Audrey Berger (Ball State)
[17] Johanna Silva (UT) vs. Antonella Bramato (Cincinnati)
Tenika McGiffin (UT) vs. Caroline Morton (Cincinnati)
Chelsea Sawyer (UT) vs. [17] Alex Sabe (Purdue)
[7] Ariadna Riley (UT) earned a first-round bye
[8] Sadie Hammond (UT) earned a first-round bye

University of Tennessee Athletics

ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships

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Players Mentioned

Sadie Hammond

Tenika McGiffin

Ariadna Riley

Chelsea Sawyer

Gabby Schuck

Johanna Silva

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