University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols to Set to Compete at ITA Ohio Valley Regional in Cincinnati
October 07, 2026 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee women's tennis team is set to continue its fall slate Thursday, as it travels to Cincinnati, Ohio, for the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships. Qualifying competition begins Thursday and will continue through Tuesday.
The tournament presents an opportunity for two individual players and one doubles pairing to earn automatic qualifications to the NCAA Individual Championships in November.
"I'm so excited to get on the road with a majority of our team this week," Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. "We have been working hard on the basics, understanding of how to eliminate errors on our end and maximize opportunities to force errors on the other end. That always takes time and is the foundation of any great player. So, this week, that will be our focus."
The Lady Vols will send six singles and four doubles entries to the tournament. Sarah Mildren, No. 40 Rinon Okuwaki, Alyson Shannon, and Saray Yli-Piipari have each earned main draw singles selections and will begin competition on Friday. Audrey Aulia and Lisa Kamigata will represent Tennessee in the qualifying singles draw on the opening day of the tournament.
The tandems of Audrey Aulia/Landry Johnson, Lisa Kamigata/Saray Yli-Piipari, Sarah Mildren/Alyson Shannon and Rinon Okuwaki/Maeve Thornton will compete in doubles competition.
ITA Regional Championships Information
Each of the 2026 ITA Men's and Women's Division I Regional Championships will have a draw size of at least 64 in the singles qualifying draw and 64 in the singles main draw. The qualifying draw will see two rounds of matches and the 16 victors will join 48 automatic main draw selections. The doubles field will consist of one 64-entry main draw.
From these fields, the two singles finalists from each of ITA's 13 regions (26 total players) will qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship. Meanwhile, the doubles champion from each region (13 total entries) will qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship. Selection criteria and acceptable draw sizes for each of the 2026 Men's and Women's Regional Championships varies by each region.
For more information about the ITA Regional Championships, click HERE. For more information on the Ohio Valley Regional draw and schedule, click HERE.
ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships – Tennessee Entries
Singles
No. 40 Rinon Okuwaki (Main)
Sarah Mildren (Main)
Alyson Shannon (Main)
Saray Yli-Piipari (Main)
Audrey Aulia (Qualifying)
Lisa Kamigata (Qualifying)
Doubles
Audrey Aulia/Landry Johnson
Lisa Kamigata/Saray Yli-Piipari
Sarah Mildren/Alyson Shannon
Rinon Okuwaki/Maeve Thornton
The tournament presents an opportunity for two individual players and one doubles pairing to earn automatic qualifications to the NCAA Individual Championships in November.
"I'm so excited to get on the road with a majority of our team this week," Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. "We have been working hard on the basics, understanding of how to eliminate errors on our end and maximize opportunities to force errors on the other end. That always takes time and is the foundation of any great player. So, this week, that will be our focus."
The Lady Vols will send six singles and four doubles entries to the tournament. Sarah Mildren, No. 40 Rinon Okuwaki, Alyson Shannon, and Saray Yli-Piipari have each earned main draw singles selections and will begin competition on Friday. Audrey Aulia and Lisa Kamigata will represent Tennessee in the qualifying singles draw on the opening day of the tournament.
The tandems of Audrey Aulia/Landry Johnson, Lisa Kamigata/Saray Yli-Piipari, Sarah Mildren/Alyson Shannon and Rinon Okuwaki/Maeve Thornton will compete in doubles competition.
ITA Regional Championships Information
Each of the 2026 ITA Men's and Women's Division I Regional Championships will have a draw size of at least 64 in the singles qualifying draw and 64 in the singles main draw. The qualifying draw will see two rounds of matches and the 16 victors will join 48 automatic main draw selections. The doubles field will consist of one 64-entry main draw.
From these fields, the two singles finalists from each of ITA's 13 regions (26 total players) will qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship. Meanwhile, the doubles champion from each region (13 total entries) will qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship. Selection criteria and acceptable draw sizes for each of the 2026 Men's and Women's Regional Championships varies by each region.
For more information about the ITA Regional Championships, click HERE. For more information on the Ohio Valley Regional draw and schedule, click HERE.
ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships – Tennessee Entries
Singles
No. 40 Rinon Okuwaki (Main)
Sarah Mildren (Main)
Alyson Shannon (Main)
Saray Yli-Piipari (Main)
Audrey Aulia (Qualifying)
Lisa Kamigata (Qualifying)
Doubles
Audrey Aulia/Landry Johnson
Lisa Kamigata/Saray Yli-Piipari
Sarah Mildren/Alyson Shannon
Rinon Okuwaki/Maeve Thornton
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Friday, March 20
Thursday, March 20
Saturday, May 18
Wednesday, May 15
