Tennessee women's tennis advances to Final Four for the first time since 2002

Tennessee women's tennis is playing in the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 2002.

The No. 16 seed Lady Vols upset No. 8 seed UCLA in a 4-3 victory Friday night in Stillwater, Oklahoma. UT is the lowest seed to reach the semifinals since the 64-team era began in 1999, and it's the first double-digit seed to reach the Final Four since 2018. It's just the second time in program history that Tennessee (22-7) has gone to the Final Four.

"I'm so incredibly happy and proud," Tennessee coach Alison Ojeda said. "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."

Tennessee advances to the semifinals where it will face No. 13 seed Texas A&M on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET).

Friday's win was the first in program history against UCLA and got the Lady Vols to 22 wins, the most wins in a season under Ojeda. The last time Tennessee was in the Final Four, Ojeda was a senior on the team.

Tennessee dropped the doubles point against the Bruins, with Lauren Anzalotta and Catherine Aulia the only pair to score a victory. But then the Lady Vols posted four singles wins to win the match, the last point a dramatic finish for Sofia Cabezas.

Alana Wolfberg was the first to get a win in singles play, going 6-0 and 6-3. Elza Tomase followed with a win in three sets (6-2, 1-6, 7-5). Catherine Aulia also won in three sets (4-6, 6-0, 6-3), and she won 12 of her final 15 games after losing the first set.

Cabezas won a three-set duel to secure the win. She lost the first set 4-6, but then recovered to beat Tian Fangram, the reigning NCAA singles champion. Cabezas won the second two sets 7-6(4) and 6-3.

"I'm just so proud of my team," Cabezas said. "I won the last point, but this was a team effort. I did it for them. I love playing for them. This is huge. I love the team effort. It's special. I just want to keep playing longer. I want to keep playing with my teammates. I want to keep playing and having fun. I just can't wait to compete again tomorrow (Saturday)."

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.