For the second consecutive season, the No. 25 University of Tennessee women's tennis team (15-9) has advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, shutting out 36th-ranked Illinois (12-11), 4-0, at the Bill Moore Tennis Center in Atlanta on Friday afternoon.

"I'm very happy that we were able to pick up this win today," UT co-head coach Mike Patrick said. "Our team has been working extremely hard and has had to battle though a lot just to get to this point. I am glad that their efforts were rewarded today.

"We have a tough task ahead of us tomorrow (Saturday) in (2007 NCAA champion) Georgia Tech, but we will go out there and give it everything we have. Hopefully, we can get a few bounces to go our way and give them a run for their money."

For the 15th time this season, Tennessee won the doubles point, then got victories in singles from junior Samantha Orlin at No. 3, Rosalia Alda at No. 6 and Connor Vogel at No. 4.

The Lady Vols play third-seeded Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. today.

Women's Golf: The Tennessee women's golf team moved up one spot to a tie for 15th place Friday after the second round of the East Regional in Athens, Ga.

The 17th-ranked Lady Vols, trying to make the NCAA championships for the fifth consecutive year, shot a second-consecutive 23-over-par 311 and are tied with Indiana with a 622 total.

Fifth-ranked Florida (585) shot a 7-over 295 to lead top-ranked Duke (15-over, 588) by three shots. The Gators trailed Duke at the start of the day by five shots.

South Carolina, ranked 32nd, is third, nine shots behind.

The top eight teams in the regional advance to the NCAA championships, May 20-23 in Albuquerque, N.M.

New Mexico (605) is in the eighth spot.

Individually, South Carolina's Benedicte Toumpsin (70) leads the tournament at 138, followed by Duke's Amanda Blumenherst (73) and Louisville's Sara-Maude Juneau (74) at 141.

Tennessee's Marci Turner (75) moved up five spots for a tie for 12th at 148.

Teammate Diana Cantu (80) is tied for 49th at 154.

Women's Track: A small contingent of the 19th-ranked Lady Vols competed in the Georgia Invitational, winning four of six events entered at UGA's Spec Towns Track.

Freshman Annie Alexander won the discus (179 feet, 4 inches) and the shot (51-10).

Junior Alicia Essex matched her career best to win the pole vault with a jump of 12-7 1/2, and sophomore Jackie Areson, the only UT runner participating, won the mile run with a season-best 4 minutes, 39.05 seconds. She won by nearly 6 seconds.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.