WACO, Texas — For the seventh straight match, the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team escapes Waco, Texas unscathed with a 5-2 win over the 30th ranked Baylor Bears.
No. 6 Vanderbilt improves to 7-2 on the year with the win on the outdoor courts of the Hurd Tennis Center.
“It was a great win for us against a really good Baylor team,” said head coach Geoff Macdonald. “We were playing without Astra who is resting to make sure she’s getting over a nagging injury, and that challenges us in a way because she’s such an important part of our team. But I thought people stepped up and played really well.”
Baylor took an early lead over the Dores after taking the doubles point on courts one and three. No. 6 Sydney Campbell and Courtney Colton suffered a 6-2 set back on court one against BU’s 20th ranked Blair Shankle/Kiah Generette
Vandy put up tough fights on courts two and three, as Georgina Sellyn and Ellie Yates pulled out the 6-4 win on two by. But the Bears sealed the point advantage with a 6-4 victory of their own at No. 2 over the freshman/senior duo of Fernanda Contreras and Frances Altick.
With the doubles point in the possession of the Bears, Baylor extended their lead in singles action as Vanderbilt’s Colton dropped her singles match at no. 3 with a 6-0, 6-3 loss to Shankle.
Following the loss the Commodores began firing on all cylinders, steadily chipping away at the 2-0 lead.
In her home state of Texas, Contreras put Vanderbilt on the board with an easy 6-0, 6-2 win over Gabriela Ferreira in front of her family and friends. With the victory, the freshman now owns a 17-3 record.
Monroe, La. Native, No. 16 Altick, leveled the score for the Dores with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 3 over Generette.
Yates, a senior, gave Vanderbilt it’s first lead of the day, generating a huge win for the team on court five. The Ridgeland, Miss. native defeated Karina Traxler 6-1, 6-4.
Vandy’s No. 20 Campbell clinched the victory, but the win took time as the junior experienced a turbulent 6-4 loss in the first set. After the set back, Campbell rallied to only allow Newborn two additional games in her 4-6 6-2, 6-0 win.
With the match decided, both coaching staffs decided to play out Sellyn’s match at No. 4 with the Glasgow, Scotland native earning VU its fifth and final point of the night in a tight 7-5, 6-4 victory over Van Zyl.
“You know it was difficult. We’ve been indoor for weeks and now were on the raod and playing in 80 degree temperature in the wind…. And that’s hard. It’s like a different game and we had a day to practice yesterday where we worked on regrouping and playing in the wind. That’s a tall order, and I think we did it really well. I think we played with toughness, but also with smart tennis.”
The Commodores will enjoy a break from competition before opening up SEC competition by hosting the Kentucky Wildcats March 6th.
