April 13, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tenn. –The No. 5 Vanderbilt women’s tennis team caps its regular season this weekend as one of three teams tied for first place in the Southeastern Conference.
The Commodores host No. 12 South Carolina on Friday at 3 p.m. and No. 1 Florida on Sunday at 11 a.m. in matches that will determine the SEC regular season champion. Prior to first serve against the Gators, the Dores will honor seniors Georgina Sellyn and Sydney Campbell at 10:45 a.m.
Last time out, VU picked up two more ITA top-25 victories, winning at No. 22 Texas A&M, 4-2, and at No. 21 LSU, 4-0. With that pair of wins, the Commodores improved to 15-5 overall and 10-1 in Southeastern Conference play. Vandy heads into the final weekend of regular season play with nine top-25 wins under its belt.
Five of the Dores’ six singles players own three or fewer conference losses, with Emma Kurtz undefeated on courts four and five and Fernanda Contreras undefeated on court six.
No. 4 Astra Sharma leads a quartet of ITA ranked players for Vanderbilt. Sydney Campbell, Contreras and Christina Rosca follow at No. 17, No. 91 and No. 98, respectively. In doubles, Astra Sharma and Emily Smith debuted at No. 5 in the nation.
Scouting the Gamecocks:
South Carolina (16-6, 7-4) enters the weekend tied for fourth in the SEC standings with No.13 Kentucky after adding a 2-0 record last weekend over No. 20 Mississippi State, 4-1, and No. 27 Ole Miss, 4-2.
The Gamecocks maintained a top-15 ranking in this week’s Oracle/ITA Rankings, moving up one spot to No. 12. Individually, Ingrid Gamarra Martins came in at No. 43 in the singles rankings with freshman Mia Horvit moving into the No. 53 spot.
The Gamecocks boast two ranked doubles pairs. Hadley Berg and Paige Cline come in at No. 27, up from No. 37, while the duo of Berg and Caroline Dailey maintained their No. 57 ranking.
Last season, Vanderbilt fell 4-3 in Columbia, S.C. for the squad’s first league loss of the season.
Gauging the Gators:
Top-ranked Florida (20-1, 10-1 SEC) is tied atop the SEC standings with second-ranked Georgia, which defeated the Gators, 4-1, in Gainesville on March 17.
The Gators make their final push for the title beginning Friday when the squad faces No. 13 Kentucky (15-5, 7-4 SEC) prior to traveling to West End. Six Florida student-athletes appear in the latest national singles rankings (No. 7 Belinda Woolcock
No. 14 Josie Kuhlman, No. 30 Ingrid Neel, No. 37 Anna Danilina, No. 40 Kourtney Keegan, No. 70 Spencer Liang), with the team’s three primary doubles teams listed in the top-40.
In their last meeting, the Commodores dropped a hard fought 4-2 decision in Gainesville, Fla. for the team’s second conference loss of the season.
