WOMEN'S STAFF

The Lady Vols finished in the top 25 of the ITA rankings in 2017 (24th), 2019 (22nd), 2021 (18th), 2022 (24th) and 2023 (14th). The No. 14 ranking at the end of the 2023 season marked the program’s highest year-end ranking since 2010.

“Alison’s competitive drive and commitment to the student-athlete experience is extraordinary.” said Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White, who extended Ojeda’s contract in the summer of 2023. “As a former Tennessee student-athlete, she takes great pride in the holistic development of everyone in her program. Her passion for Tennessee, her ability to teach and develop talent and her commitment to fostering a championship culture will continue to elevate her program and allow them to consistently compete for SEC and National Championships.” 

For the fifth time in her career, Ojeda was named the ITA Regional Coach of the Year in 2023, doing so for the second time at Tennessee. The ITA had already recognized her coaching prowess on multiple occasions, earning the acclaim in 2004, 2012, 2015 and 2019.

Ojeda has established a culture of achievement and excellence off the court as well. Her team received the ITA Community Service Award in 2017, and Ariadna Riley—a member of the first class of Lady Vols to complete their entire careers with Ojeda as their head coach—earned the ITA’s prestigious Ann Lebedeff Leadership Award in 2020. Similarly, in 2022, Kylie Duckworth earned the NCAA Women's Enhancement Scholarship for her excellence in leadership, both off the court and on it, academic success and community engagement. Duckworth began medical school in Fall 2022.

The Tennessee women’s tennis program has earned a perfect multi-year NCAA Graduation Success Rate for each of the last seven years and has been recognized as an ITA All-Academic Team six times during her tenure (2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023).

The 2022-23 season was a historic one for the program under Ojeda's leadership, and the coach's work was recognized by her peers in the league as she took home SEC Coach of the Year acclaim for the first time in her career. The Lady Vols advanced to the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the format of the event changed in 2019 and hosted an NCAA Regional on Rocky Top for the first time since 2011. Tennessee finished the year 21-6 and posted its highest-ever SEC win total after going 11-2 in conference play, good enough for a third-place finish in the league standings. The campaign marked UT's 12th 20-win season and became just the fifth time in program history Tennessee finished the year undefeated at home. With the season marked by fantastic play from returners and a shot of energy from a few talented newcomers, Tennessee toppled four top-25 foes, highlighted by a win over No. 8 Auburn, and peaked at No. 12 in the ITA's rankings during the season.

Tennessee's talented trio of Daria Kuczer, Rebeka Mertena and Elza Tomase were all named First Team All-SEC Selections at the end of the season. In five years under Ojeda's tutelage, Mertena finished her career with 103 victories on Rocky Top, ranking seventh in program history and just one ahead of her Ojeda's total as a student-athlete. Kuczer, who had an impressive 72.1 winning percentage and three 20-plus win seasons since transferring to Tennessee in 2019-20, was also recognized as the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Senior Player of the Year after a 24-7 singles season and her first career ITA Singles Ranking. Highlighting the fall was four qualifiers for the ITA National Fall Championship with Kuczer and Tomase earning a spot in main draw singles, while Kuczer and Eleonora Molinaro punched their ticket to the doubles main draw.

In Ojeda's sixth season at the helm in 2021-22, the Lady Vols advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament and made it to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Championship, but fell just short of an upset victory over the regional host. The Lady Vols posted a final record of 16-10 and 7-6 in the conference. With a young squad, UT showed lots of development over the course of the year, the continual growth of Ojeda-coached players was on full display with senior Tenika McGiffin, who played the entire season at No. 1 or No. 2 in singles after playing just one match in the top two spots her first four years on Rocky Top. Under the leadership of Ojeda, McGiffin was named the SEC Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year, just the third time in program history a Lady Vol earned the honor.

Tennessee earned three All-SEC selections in the form of McGiffin, Rebeka Mertena and Elza Tomase. Tomase also garnered SEC All-Tournamernt Team acclaim for her role in the Lady Vol's run to the tournament semifinals. That trio made a splash in the end-of-season ITA Ohio Valley Regional awards, as McGiffin was the Most Improved Senior and Mertena the Senior Player of the Year, while Tomase claimed Freshman of the Year honors. During the fall, UT picked up a pair of tournament victories and had two qualifiers for the ITA National Fall Championship in San Diego, Calif.

During the 2020-21 season, Ojeda navigated her Lady Vols through the COVID-19 global health crisis which featured an all-Southeastern Conference slate for the fall.

The spring season saw the Big Orange pick up a 17-9 record, going 8-5 in SEC play. The Lady Vols went undefeated at home for just the fourth time in program history, holding an unscathed 11-0 mark. Ojeda’s squad finished the season fifth in the SEC and were ranked as high as No. 10 nationally. Sophomore Carly Briggs highlighted the fall season with a 7-2 solo record while going undefeated in the June Stewart Invitational.

UT posted nine shutouts and earned nine wins against ranked opponents in the 2021 spring campaign.

Individually, Tenika McGiffin and Rebeka Mertena picked up Second-Team All-SEC Honors and Briggs earned All-SEC Newcomer honors, given to second-year student-athlete whose freshman campaign was interrupted by the COVID-19 global health crisis.

The Lady Vols continued their upward trend during Ojeda’s fourth year of guidance, highlighted by individual success in the fall and a 10-3 spring record before the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global health crisis halted athletic competition.

In 2020, the Lady Vols were ranked as high as No. 20 in the nation and had as many as four ranked singles players and one top-10-ranked doubles pair.

The fall season was highlighted by an all-Lady Vol final at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional, with junior Kaitlin Staines pitted against sophomore Rebeka Mertena. Staines took the Ohio Valley Regional and both would earn bids to the ITA Fall National Championships. The meeting would mark the first all Lady Vol final in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional since 2012. Staines and her doubles partner Tenika McGiffin also earned a bid to the ITA Fall National Championships with a second-place finish at the ITA All-American Championships.

The 2020 spring campaign saw Ojeda’s squad go undefeated at home, take the doubles point in 10 matches and record five shut outs. Two Lady Vols also earned SEC Player of the week honors.

At the conclusion of the year, Ojeda’s Lady Vols collected an impressive five ITA Ohio Valley Region awards – Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award (McGiffin), Rookie of the Year (Carly Briggs), Player to Watch (Mertena), Most Improved Senior (Johanna Silva) and the ITA Community Service Award.

Ojeda’s Lady Vols in 2019 posted a 20-8 (9-4 SEC) record, finishing fourth in the SEC and shutting out 11 opponents—a program record. Tennessee continued to make immense strides on the court, recording its best regular-season win total (20) since 2003 and making the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. The Lady Vols claimed their best SEC finish since 2013 and nine conference victories—their most since 2011. Tennessee posted a 14-3 home record, marking the most home wins for the program since 1992.

Ojeda directly oversaw the development of Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines, who earned 2019 All-American honors in doubles.

Two freshmen that Ojeda recruited to Knoxville, Rebeka Mertena and Maia Haumuller, also made immediate impacts in 2019. Mertena led the Lady Vols in dual-match singles wins with 18, while Haumuller competed at the No. 2 doubles spot all season while also frequently appearing at the No. 6 singles spot.

In her first two seasons as head coach in 2017 and 2018, the Lady Vols show tremendous improvements on the courts, posting back-to-back seasons with at least 18 wins for the first time since 2010-11 and returning to the NCAA Championships both years.

Tennessee claimed 12 consecutive victories to open the 2018 season, marking the best start in program history and its second-longest winning streak ever.

In her debut season as head coach in 2017, Ojeda led the Lady Vols to one of their most productive seasons in recent years. Tennessee had its most wins (19) and highest ITA ranking (12th) since 2011. The Big Orange also earned their first berth in the NCAA Championships since 2014, advancing to the second round.

Over the course of that 2017 campaign, Tennessee shut out nine opponents. The Lady Volunteers also claimed six top-50 wins on the season, compared to nine over the previous three years combined.

Ojeda played a major role in helping 2017 senior Brittany Lindl take her game to the next level and become the top player in the singles lineup, where she had seven ranked wins on the year. Lindl garnered second-team All-SEC honors, the ITA Ohio Valley Region’s Most Improved Senior Award and earned a bid to the NCAA Singles Championships.

Tennessee announced Ojeda as the seventh women’s tennis head coach in program history on Nov. 21, 2016. She had initially rejoined the program as an assistant coach in June of 2016 and was promoted to take over the program when her head coach at UT, Mike Patrick, stepped down.

Ojeda at that time called Tennessee “my dream job since I played here… Every step I have taken from a coaching standpoint has been to help get me here.”

A LEGENDARY COLLEGE PLAYING CAREER
Ojeda lettered at UT from 1998-2002 and remains a fixture on Tennessee’s career wins lists. She is currently ranked ninth in school history in singles wins (102) and eighth in doubles victories (105). She ascended as high as No. 9 in the NCAA singles rankings and No. 4 in the NCAA doubles rankings. A banner bearing her likeness hangs alongside other UT greats inside Tennessee’s Goodfriend Tennis Center.

Now the coach of the program she once starred for, she seeks to recruit and develop high-character, success-driven young women to follow in her footsteps.

“We are building something very special here,” Ojeda said. "I think that is evident in the way our team has bought-in and you can see the growth the program has made since we first arrived on campus."

One of the most decorated Lady Vols in program history, Ojeda is one of only four females ever to post more than 100 victories in both singles and doubles during their career on Rocky Top.

While helping lead Tennessee to one of its most successful periods to date during her career, she earned numerous accolades playing in the top half of the lineup. She made three singles and two doubles appearances in the NCAA Championships. She earned singles All-America honors in 2001 and was a two-time All-SEC recipient. As a senior in 2002, she was honored for her leadership and sportsmanship with both the ITA National Cissie B. Leary Award and the Southeast Region Arthur Ashe Jr. Award.

Her other off-the-court collegiate honors include three selections to the Academic All-SEC Honor Roll and three SEC Sportsmanship Awards.

As a player on the USTA professional circuit, she captured four tournament doubles titles (all with former UT All-American teammates Tammy Encina and Vilmarie Castellvi).

OJEDA’S COACHING JOURNEY
At just 43 years old, Ojeda has dedicated close to half her life to mentoring collegiate student-athletes. She already boasts 22 years of full-time Division I coaching experience, including 12 as a head coach.

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Ojeda spent the six years on coaching staff at Baylor before returning to Tennessee in 2016, holding the title of associate head coach her last four seasons with the Bears.

Prior to her tenure at Baylor, she spent five seasons as the head coach at Middle Tennessee.

Comprehensive excellence has accompanied Ojeda at every phase of her tennis career. As a Lady Vol senior in 2002, she captained Tennessee to its first NCAA semifinal appearance and a No. 6 finish in the year-end team rankings. As a coach, her teams have achieved three NCAA Round of 16 berths (2004, 2011, 2015), a pair of NCAA quarterfinal berths (2011, 2015) and one NCAA semifinal appearance (2011).

Her teams also have won five regular-season conference championships and four conference tournament titles—all at the “Power Five” level.

Ojeda has developed eight singles All-Americans and five All-American doubles teams.

In addition to Baylor and Middle Tennessee, Ojeda’s other Division I coaching stops include tenures at Texas A&M (assistant coach, 2002-04) and Alabama (assistant coach, 2005). She also founded 254 Tennis Academy in Waco, Texas, in 2014 and has served as tournament director for multiple professional events.

Ojeda—who was inducted into the National Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame in 2009—graduated from Tennessee in 2002 with a degree in Sport Management and a minor in Business Administration.

“I’ve loved Tennessee since I was a recruit back in 1998,” Ojeda said. “The opportunity to come back and walk on this campus every day and live in Big Orange Country is just amazing.

“In 1998, I was in Pat Summitt’s locker room and a recruit asked her why she should come to Tennessee. Pat’s eyes got huge and she said, ‘Why wouldn't you come to Tennessee? This is the greatest place in the country. The only reason you wouldn’t want to come here is if you didn’t want to be the best.’ From that moment on, I have absolutely lived and breathed Tennessee. It’s a fantastic honor to be back here.”

Alison and her wife, Erin, enjoy hiking the many gorgeous Tennessee State Parks with their goldendoodle, Bear, and Australian-German shepherd mix, Bailey. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Summitt, in April of 2022.