WTEN CENTRAL: Purdue/Indiana

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 20/21-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team will spend the weekend in the Hoosier state as they face off with a pair of Big Ten teams.

The Lady Vols (3-1) open the trip with a dual against Purdue (3-3) on Friday, Feb. 7 in the Boilermaker's Schwartz Tennis Center. First serve in West Lafayette, Indiana is slated for 3 p.m. ET.

On Sunday, Feb. 9, UT faces Indiana (3-2) in the IU Tennis Center at 11 a.m. ET.

"Purdue and Indiana are two teams that we know will fight from start to finish, so it will be good to get back on the court and compete," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "We have used the last two weeks wisely and have been able to spend some quality time working on skills that are required to win a championship. We're excited to coach our squad this weekend."

Coverage: A complete recap of the weekend's matches will be posted to UTSports.com following each dual match. You can follow @Vol_WTennis on Twitter for live updates.

Last Time Out: The Lady Vols competed in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. UT claimed the doubles point in both matches, defeating then-ranked No. 19 Kansas 4-2 but falling to No. 20 Virginia 4-3.

Inside the Series: UT has an all-time 18-0 record against Purdue. Friday's matchup will mark the first in West Lafayette since 2009 when the Lady Vols won 6-1.

Against Indiana, the Lady Vols hold a 22-15 advantage all-time. Tennessee is currently riding a three-match winning streak and has won seven of the last 10 meetings.

SEC Player of the Week: No. 38-ranked sophomore Rebeka Mertena was named the first SEC Women's Tennis Player of the Week for the 2020 season. The honor is the first of her career.

The Liepaja, Latvia, native has played a key role in the Lady Vols 3-1 start to 2020, recording a perfect 4-0 singles mark in dual-match play.

Freshman Shining Early: Freshman Carly Briggs boasts perfect 4-0 singles and doubles marks in dual-match play to begin her collegiate career. The Calhoun, Georgia product defeated Kansas' Lisa Delgado in three sets to clinch the match for the Lady Vols during the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.

In the Rankings
Singles
38 – Rebeka Mertena
59 – Johanna Silva
70 – Kaitlin Staines

Doubles
11 – Kaitlin Staines/Tenika McGiffin

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Carly Briggs

Tenika McGiffin

Rebeka Mertena

Johanna Silva

Kaitlin Staines

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