Lady Vols Conclude Fall Season

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee women's tennis team concluded their fall season Sunday with Day 3 of the Tennessee Fall Invite at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

"Our team played the best tennis, from top to bottom, I have ever seen us play at the same time," head coach Alison Ojeda said about the fall. "I hate that our fall season has come to an end, but we are excited about where we are going."

The Lady Vols capped off their home event with a round of doubles against Ohio State followed by singles against Wake Forest. After getting swept in doubles, Ojeda challenged her team to step things up in singles and compete at a higher level.

"It's not always fun being on the receiving end of constructive criticism, but after getting rocked by a good Ohio State team in doubles, we had a choice to make," Ojeda said. "Do we want to be great or not? We challenged the girls to leave the locker room and show us in singles play what Tennessee Tennis is all about.

"A couple hours later we walked off the court knowing that we have a team who is tough and willing to face adversity head on."

While UT only went 2-3 in singles, the Lady Vols forced all three of the losses to third sets against a solid Wake Forest team. Sophomores Ariadna Riley and Johanna Silva both earned wins on the day. Riley downed Eliza Omirou, 6-4, 6-1, and Silva defeated Courtney Meredith, 6-4, 6-3.

"We had a great weekend competing," Tenika McGiffin said. "The team showed spirit and fight on the court which, is a great preparation going into the spring. We learned a lot about our individual games and team culture, and we are all really excited for the spring season to begin. The team this fall season has worked really hard on and off the court to improve our games in preparation for the spring. As a whole, our team is in good shape and pumped to compete day-in, day-out for our university."

The Tennessee Fall Invite wrapped up the fall for the Lady Vols, who competed in three different tournaments to get ready for the spring. The team will return to the courts in January, beginning with a road trip to face Old Dominion and William & Mary on Jan. 20-21.

"Throughout the fall, we all grew individually as players and as a whole team," said Gabby Schuck, who is enjoying her best season with Tennessee. "We have learned a lot and are extremely eager to continue growing and taking all of our games to the next level. Going into our offseason now is a perfect opportunity for our team to do just that. We can't wait for January to come around to continue competing and building off of everything we have learned this fall."

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

UT-WF Singles
1. Chandler Carter (WF) def. Sadie Hammond (UT), 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. Emma Davis (WF) def. Gabby Schuck (UT), 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Ariadna Riley (UT) def. Eliza Omirou (WF), 6-4, 6-1
4. Johanna Silva (UT) def. Courtney Meredith (WF), 6-4, 6-3
5. Joanna Zalewski (WF) def. Tenika McGiffin (UT), 7-6, 4-6, 6-3

UT-OSU Doubles
1. Sanford/Sneed (OSU) def. Hammond/Schuck (UT), 6-3
2. Fukuda/Tyrina (OSU) def. McGiffin/Profit (UT), 6-3
3. Ballinger/Hurley (OSU) def. Riley/Sawyer (UT), 6-2

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Sadie Hammond

Tenika McGiffin

Ariadna Riley

Gabby Schuck

Johanna Silva

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