March 9, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The 5th-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team hits the road for the squad’s second SEC match of the 2016 season.
VU travels to the Palmetto State, as the Commodores take on the No. 12 South Carolina Gamecocks Thursday, March 10th, at 4:00 pm CT.
“South Carolina is having a great year, said head coach Geoff Macdonald. They’re a great team, and it’s a very challenging place to play. They have very good and vocal crowds. The challenge is to adapt to the conditions on the road as quickly as you can. We did an excellent job of that a few weeks back at Baylor, and we hadn’t played much outside then and just had to figure out of to play quickly. Every place has different conditions, and we’ll just try to adapt and get ready”
Vanderbilt kicked-off league competition Sunday afternoon with a big 5-2 victory over the then-No. 17 ranked Kentucky Wildcats. Overall, the `Dores boast an 8-2 record with the squad’s only losses coming from Ohio State.
While the Commodores have dropped the doubles point in five of the squad’s ten matches, Macdonald and Tsoubanos changed up pairings last weekend which proved fruitful as Ellie Yates and Astra Sharma nearly knocked down the No. 2 team in the nation, 7-5.
For their excellent showing at No. 1, Yates and Sharma debuted in the Oracle/ITA rankings this week as the No. 64 tandem in the nation. Courtney Colton and Sydney Campbell remain in the top-10, at No. 9.
In singles, all Commodores own a winning record this spring, displaying the `Dores depth this season. Vandy’s highest ranked student-athlete, No. 16 Frances Altick, currently undefeated in the dual season with a 6-0 record. Playing primarily at No. 2, Altick has knocked off two ranked opponents, and recently won a spot in her first WTA event.
In addition to VU’s success on court two, four other Commodores have only one loss to their name; Campbell (No. 24), Fernanda Contreras, Sharma (No. 33) and Yates.
South Carolina is 2-0 in conference play, as the Gamecocks took down Mizzou the Arkansas Razorbacks 5-2 at the Carolina Tennis Center this past weekend.
The Gamecocks head into Thursday’s match with a 10-2 record and eight victories over ranked opponents. In doubles, Carolina has won the doubles point in 10 of their 12 matches, and boast one ranked duo in No. 54 Hadley Berg and Paige Cline.
Berg and Cline also appear in the singles rankings, coming in at No. 109 and No. 110.
Last season Vanderbilt defeated the Gamecocks in a mighty 6-1 victory on senior day. Live scoring of tomorrow’s match can be found HERE.
