KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 24, 2019) – The ETSU women’s tennis team made the short trip to Knoxville, to take on the No. 29 Lady Vols, on Sunday afternoon at the Goodfriend Tennis Center. The Bucs fell 4-0 to the Lady Vols, dropping to 5-5 on the season.

Ariadna Riley and Rebeka Mertena defeated Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga (Basauri, Spain) and Yunuen Elizarraras (Cuernavaca, Mexico) 6-0 at the No. 3 spot. Tennessee clinched the match at the No. 1 spot after Laylo Bakhodirova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) and Alejandra Morales (Santiago Chile) fell 6-3 to ninth ranked Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines. Raquel Amaro (Caracas, Venezuela) and Yi Chi Ma (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) were in the middle of their match, trailing by one at the No. 2 spot before action was halted.

Tennessee’s Mertena earned her second win of the day after defeating Amaro 6-1, 6-2. The Vols would go ahead 3-0 when Elizarraras fell to Tenika McGiffin 6-1, 6-3. Maia Haumuller clinched the match for the Vols with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Yi Chi Ma. At the No. 1 spot Bakhodirova was ahead of Hammond 6-2, 4-3 before play was stopped. Morales also won her first set 7-6 (7-5), but trailed by one in her second set, before play was stopped.

ETSU returns to this action next weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio. They will play Cincinnati on Friday, March 1 at 5:00 p.m. and Xavier on March 2 at 4:30 p.m.

Singles competition

1. Sadie Hammond (UT) vs. Laylo Bakhodirova (ETSUW) 2-6, 3-4, unfinished
2. Kaitlin Staines (UT) vs. Alejandra Morales (ETSUW) 6-7 (5-7), 4-3, unfinished
3. Ariadna Riley (UT) vs. A. Pascual-Larrinaga (ETSUW) 6-4, 3-0, unfinished
4. Rebeka Mertena (UT) def. Raquel Amaro (ETSUW) 6-1, 6-2
5. Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Yunuen Elizarraras (ETSUW) 6-1, 6-3
6. Maia Haumuller (UT) def. Yi Chi Ma (ETSUW) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. #9 Sadie Hammond/Kaitlin Staines (UT) def. Laylo Bakhodirova/Alejandra Morales (ETSUW) 6-3
2. Maia Haumuller/Tenika McGiffin (UT) vs. Raquel Amaro/Yi Chi Ma (ETSUW) 5-4, unfinished
3. Ariadna Riley/Rebeka Mertena (UT) def. A. Pascual-Larrinaga/Yunuen Elizarraras (ETSUW) 6-0

Match Notes:

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (4,5,6)

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For more information on Buccaneer women’s tennis visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s tennis page.