GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team extended its run at the SEC tournament Thursday with a 4-2 victory over ninth-seeded Ole Miss. A series of third sets proved the deciding factor in the second round of the tournament as eighth-seeded Vanderbilt won two third sets late to secure the win.
Seeing Doubles
- The Commodores won a thrilling doubles point with wins on Court 1 and 2 to kickoff their postseason slate.
- Ranked 40th nationally, Anna Ross and Holly Staff paired up to take a 6-1 win over their Ole Miss opponents on Court 1 to open the afternoon session.
- A strong duo at No. 3 doubles, Dasha Kourkina and MaryAnn Rompf nearly knotted their match up 5-5 but were unable to take the 40-40 game and fell, 4-6.
- On Court 2, Marcella Cruz and Anessa Lee jumped out to an early 3-0 lead but were tightly contested in the latter stretch of their match as they claimed a 6-4 win over their Rebels opponents.
Strength in Singles
- Ole Miss tied things up, 1-1, with a win on Court 1. Battling back after dropping her first set, 6-1, Ross took an early lead in set two but was unable to stop 48th-ranked Machalova in straight sets.
- Kourkina put the Commodores back on top with a pair of 6-2 set wins on Court 5. With an ace to seal the deal against her Rebels opponent, Kourkina made it 2-1 for Vanderbilt.
- The Rebels tied it up again on Court 4 as Yufei Long dropped a pair of close sets, 7-5 and 6-3. After a tough first set loss, Long battled back, down 5-1 early in set two, but was unable to force a deciding third set and the match was tied 2-2.
- Holly Staff pulled the Dores within one point of the victory with her third set win on Court 2. After storming to a 6-2 opening set win, Staff dropped set two, 6-1, as a deciding third was forced by her Ole Miss opponent. In the third, the two traded points early, ultimately sitting tied 4-4 but the sophomore held strong and set the Commodores up, 3-2, with a 6-4 third set win.
- Anessa Lee clinched the match-winning point with a three set victory on Court 3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1. After leading the first set early, her Rebels opponent fought back to knot it up 5-5 but Lee won the next two games to take the 7-5 first set win. With a 6-3 loss in sset two, Lee was forced to fight back in a deciding third set with a trip to the quarterfinals looming. In a quick third set, the sophomore took a 6-1 victory to secure the Commodores a spot in the next round of the SEC tournament.
- Also in a third set on her court, Amy Stevens was up, 5-4, when her match was called. Prior to that, the rookie and her Rebels opponent had traded a pair of 6-3 sets through the first two.
Up Next
The Commodores return to the courts Friday at 11 a.m. CT as they take on regular season champions, Texas A&M.
