STILLWATER, Okla. — Tennessee women's tennis lost in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament against Texas A&M on Saturday. The 16th-seeded Lady Vols fell to the 13th-seeded Aggies in a 4-1 heartbreaker after the clock turned midnight into Sunday in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The Aggies snatched a dominant doubles point to start the matchup, so Tennessee needed four singles matches to clinch a spot in the final to play against the Georgia Bulldogs in the national championship.
The Lady Vols started singles by losing the first set in a tiebreaker. Then, Tennessee fell behind, 3-0, after Mary Stoiana and Carson Branstine each won their matches for Texas A&M.
However, Esther Adeshina gave Tennessee life and got the Lady Vols on the board by winning her first two sets. The score sat at 3-1.
Tennessee's Alana Wolfberg was down 5-0 in the third set but fought back to pick up three points to make it 5-3. However, Nicole Khirin closed the match and secured the Aggies second NCAA Championship appearance in program history.
Despite the loss, Tennessee had a storybook season, finishing 22-8 overall and 9-4 in conference play. The Final Four matchup was the first time since 2002 that the Lady Vols made it this far in the NCAA Tournament.
