University of Tennessee Athletics
Saturday, September 19
Cary, N.C.
University of Tennessee
vs
ITA All-American Championships
Lady Vols to Open Fall Slate at ITA All-American Championships
September 18, 2026 | Women's Tennis
CARY, N.C. – The University of Tennessee women's tennis team is set to compete in the first major collegiate tournament of the fall slate, the ITA All-American Championships. The tournament presents an opportunity for 10 individual players and four doubles pairings to earn automatic qualifications to the NCAA Individual Championships in November.
"All-Americans is a tournament that I hold dear to my heart," Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. "For me, it's the first big event of the fall and our student-athletes are given a chance to perform against the best in the country. I'm very excited for our players who have qualified and I look forward to being on-court with them!"
The event will run from Sept. 19 to Sept. 27 at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C. For more information on the ITA All-American Championships, live scoring and live video links, visit the tournament homepage.
The Lady Vols will send four singles and one doubles entries to the tournament. Three newcomers will make their Lady Vol debuts in Cary, as transfer sophomore Rinon Okuwaki earned a main draw singles selection and freshmen Alyson Shannon and Sarah Mildren will compete in the prequalifying draw. Senior Maeve Thornton also earned a prequalifying singles bid, while she and Okuwaki will team up in the prequalifying doubles draw as the lone doubles tandem for the Big Orange.
Okuwaki earned her main draw at-large selection based on her preseason singles ranking, as she took the No. 40 spot on ITA's preseason singles list.
History of the ITA All-American Championships
Since 1983, the ITA Women's All-American Championships have featured the nation's top NCAA Division I players and have been a pioneer in women's college tennis. In addition, the event has created milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women's collegiate tennis over the years.
Starting in the 2024-25 tennis season, the NCAA Individual Championships were contested during the fall slate, as opposed to at the end of the spring dual season. In the new format, the ITA All-American Championships serve as a means for 10 singles players (eight main draw quarterfinalists and two feed-in consolation finalists) and four doubles pairs (the four main draw semifinalists) to earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.
in 2024, Elza Tomase battled to a runner-up finish in the singles draw, good for the best result by a Lady Vol in the history of the event.
ITA All-American Championships Format
Competition will begin Saturday with the prequalifying draw. The prequalifying singles field of 160 will be cut via three rounds to 20 advancing athletes, which will round out a qualifying field of 64. The qualifying draw will see 16 athletes advance to the main draw of 64, which will follow a traditional, single-elimination format and crown one champion.
In doubles competition, the prequalifying and qualifying draws will each feature 32 teams, with eight duos advancing from each. Doubles matches will be scored best two out of three sets, with a 10-point match tiebreak in lieu of a full third set.
Lady Vols Competing
No. 40 Rinon Okuwaki – Main Draw Singles
Sarah Mildren – Prequalifying Draw Singles
Alyson Shannon – Prequalifying Draw Singles
Maeve Thornton – Prequalifying Draw Singles
Okuwaki/Thornton – Prequalifying Draw Doubles
"All-Americans is a tournament that I hold dear to my heart," Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. "For me, it's the first big event of the fall and our student-athletes are given a chance to perform against the best in the country. I'm very excited for our players who have qualified and I look forward to being on-court with them!"
The event will run from Sept. 19 to Sept. 27 at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C. For more information on the ITA All-American Championships, live scoring and live video links, visit the tournament homepage.
The Lady Vols will send four singles and one doubles entries to the tournament. Three newcomers will make their Lady Vol debuts in Cary, as transfer sophomore Rinon Okuwaki earned a main draw singles selection and freshmen Alyson Shannon and Sarah Mildren will compete in the prequalifying draw. Senior Maeve Thornton also earned a prequalifying singles bid, while she and Okuwaki will team up in the prequalifying doubles draw as the lone doubles tandem for the Big Orange.
Okuwaki earned her main draw at-large selection based on her preseason singles ranking, as she took the No. 40 spot on ITA's preseason singles list.
History of the ITA All-American Championships
Since 1983, the ITA Women's All-American Championships have featured the nation's top NCAA Division I players and have been a pioneer in women's college tennis. In addition, the event has created milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women's collegiate tennis over the years.
Starting in the 2024-25 tennis season, the NCAA Individual Championships were contested during the fall slate, as opposed to at the end of the spring dual season. In the new format, the ITA All-American Championships serve as a means for 10 singles players (eight main draw quarterfinalists and two feed-in consolation finalists) and four doubles pairs (the four main draw semifinalists) to earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.
in 2024, Elza Tomase battled to a runner-up finish in the singles draw, good for the best result by a Lady Vol in the history of the event.
ITA All-American Championships Format
Competition will begin Saturday with the prequalifying draw. The prequalifying singles field of 160 will be cut via three rounds to 20 advancing athletes, which will round out a qualifying field of 64. The qualifying draw will see 16 athletes advance to the main draw of 64, which will follow a traditional, single-elimination format and crown one champion.
In doubles competition, the prequalifying and qualifying draws will each feature 32 teams, with eight duos advancing from each. Doubles matches will be scored best two out of three sets, with a 10-point match tiebreak in lieu of a full third set.
Lady Vols Competing
No. 40 Rinon Okuwaki – Main Draw Singles
Sarah Mildren – Prequalifying Draw Singles
Alyson Shannon – Prequalifying Draw Singles
Maeve Thornton – Prequalifying Draw Singles
Okuwaki/Thornton – Prequalifying Draw Doubles
Players Mentioned
/ 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
