Tennessee women's tennis' historic NCAA Tournament run has been halted in the Final Four.
The Lady Vols lost 4-1 to Texas A&M on Saturday after a pair of upsets sent them to their second-ever semifinals.
16-seed Tennessee was competitive throughout the night, but didn't have enough to push through against the 13-seed Aggies.
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Final Four doesn't swing Tennessee's way
Tennessee got off to a rough start in the Final Four matchup against Texas A&M. The Lady Vols lost the doubles point quickly to take a 1-0 deficit into the singles portion of the match.
However, Tennessee fired off to a better start in the singles. It split the first sets in half 3-3 to keep hope alive. It would take four singles wins to advance after the faltered doubles point, though.
In the second sets, the Lady Vols dropped matches one and two to fall into losses in both. However, set six was a sweep for Tennessee as it claimed its first point of the match and made things 3-1.
Match three was then taken by Texas A&M in three sets, though, to clinch the win over the Lady Vols.
The Lady Vols' historic path to this point
Tennessee's run to the Final Four matchup on Saturday was unprecedented. After earning the 16-seed, it opened the event against Murray State. The Lady Vols swept the match 4-0.
This placed Tennessee against Duke in the following round. The Lady Vols once again had no trouble going 4-0 in that match, as well.
Tennessee then found itself against top-seeded Oklahoma State. The Lady Vols would pull off what is now largely considered the biggest upset in collegiate women's tennis history as it handed the Cowgirls their first loss of the season. Tennessee took it 4-2.
For a trip to the Final Four, the Lady Vols once again pulled off an upset. They met 8-seed UCLA and won 4-3 through a Sofia Cabezas thriller to stay alive.
This was the first time a 16-seed had ever advanced to the Final Four. It also marks the lowest seed to reach this point since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1999.
It is the second time Tennessee women's tennis has gone this far. The other year was 2002 where they fell a game short of reaching the National Championship.
"I'm so incredibly happy and proud," head coach Alison Ojeda said after clinching a Final Four berth. "We have said for this entire year that there is just something really special about this group. Not only are they good, but they have this togetherness that allows them to elevate each other's performance. That's what you guys saw tonight from start to finish. I couldn't be more excited for these guys."
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