NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It was a fight to the finish on Senior Day for No. 16 Vanderbilt women’s tennis as third-ranked Georgia edged out the Commodores 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at Currey Tennis Center.
Vanderbilt earned the doubles point with a big comeback at No. 3 and another strong effort from 54th-ranked duo of Emma Kurtz and Marcella Cruz at No. 2. While Kurtz and Cruz secured a 6-4 victory, Christina Rosca and Anessa Lee battled back from a 4-0 deficit to win the final six games and clinch the point for the Commodores.
Georgia won the first two singles matches with Elena Christofi’s 6-1, 6-4 victory over Dasha Kourkina at No. 6, and No. 13 Meg Kowalski’s win over Anna Ross 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3.
Kurtz tied the match at 2-2 with Vanderbilt’s first singles win of the afternoon. In her final regular season match on West End, she knocked 45th-ranked Lea Ma in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4.
Lee won the first set at No. 4, but 73rd-ranked Morgan Coppoc prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 to give Georgia a 3-2 lead.
At No. 1, Rosca went toe-to-toe with with the top-ranked singles player in the nation. Georgia’s Katarina Jokic won the first 6-4, but Rosca answered back with a 6-4 win in the second set. The two were on serve after seven games in the third set, but Jokic prevailed, 6-3.
Marcella Cruz and No. 104 Marta Gonzalez were in a marathon at No. 5. Cruz won the first set tiebreaker, but dropped the second set tiebreaker, 10-8. The Bulldogs clinched the match before the third set.
Prior to the match, Vanderbilt honored its three seniors: Kurtz, Rosca and Lauren Gish.
The Commodores will close out the regular season with four straight road matches beginning Thursday at South Carolina (4 p.m. CT) and Saturday at Florida (10 a.m. CT).
Results
Singles
1. #1 Katarina Jokic (UGA) def. #54 Christina Rosca (VANDY), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
2. Emma Kurtz (VANDY) def. #45 Lea Ma (UGA), 7-6, 6-4
3. #13 Meg Kowalski (UGA) def. Anna Ross (VANDY), 7-5, 6-1
4. #73 Morgan Coppoc (UGA) def. Anessa Lee (VANDY), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
5. #104 Marta Gonzalez (UGA) vs. Marcella Cruz (VANDY), 7-6, 6-7, 0-0, unfinished
6. Elena Christofi (UGA) def. Dasha Kourkina (VANDY), 6-1, 6-4
Doubles
1. Anna Ross/Holly Staff (VANDY) vs. #4 Katarina Jokic/Ariana Arseneault (UGA), 5-5 unfinished
2. #56 Emma Kurtz/Marcella Cruz (VANDY) def. Morgan Coppoc/Elena Christofi (UGA), 6-4
3. Christina Rosca/Anessa Lee (VANDY) def. Meg Kowalski/Lea Ma (UGA), 6-4
Match Notes:
Georgia 12-1, 8-0 SEC; National ranking #3
Vanderbilt 12-5, 4-5 SEC; National ranking #16
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3); Singles (6, 3, 2, 4, 1) T-3:40
