NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt’s women’s tennis team jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after clinching the doubles point but it wasn’t enough to hold off the sixth-ranked Yellow Jackets, as the Commodores fell 4-3 to Georgia Tech at the Currey Tennis Center Wednesday. The loss to Georgia Tech was just the second in the last 10 meetings between the two schools.
“I thought our team showed improvement in a lot of areas today,” said head coach Geoff Macdonald. “We are showing progress in doubles and have made some strides in singles. I want to commend Georgia Tech on the way they played in singles. This is a very solid club that we lost to today.”
The Commodores (5-5, 1-2) started off the meet on the right track as it took two of the three doubles matches against the Jackets. VU’s number one pair of Heather Steinbauer and Jackie Wu picked up their second win over a ranked doubles opponent Wednesday as they topped GT’s team of Noelle Hickey and Christy Striplin, 8-6. After falling at the number two doubles slot, the doubles point came down to the number three slot. After falling behind early in the match Vanderbilt’s duo of Courtney and Keilly Ulery stormed back to take the match 8-6, clinching the doubles point for the `Dores.
The Yellow Jackets (11-5, 4-1) knotted the match score at 1-1 when Sasha Krupina defeated Steinbauer, 6-2, 6-3. The Commodores retook the lead at 2-1, when Wu cruised to a straight set win over Noelle Hickey, 6-3, 6-2, for her third consecutive singles win. With the win, the Holmdel, N.J. native improved to 21-7 overall and 6-3 in dual play.
After the Yellow Jackets had clinched the match and led 4-2, senior Courtney Ulery posted an impressive 6-3, 6-1 win over Lynn Blau, making the final score 4-3 in favor of Georgia Tech.
The Commodores will return to Southeastern Conference action for the first time in 12 days as they travel to Auburn, Ala., this Friday (Mar. 27) for a 4 p.m. dual with Tigers.
Live stats of Friday’s dual between the `Dores and Tigers will be available via auburntigers.com. Fans can also watch live video of the match by clicking here during the scheduled time.
No. 6 Georgia Tech 4, No. 26 Vanderbilt 3
Singles Results
1. No. 7 Irina Falconi (GT) def. No. 61 Catherine Newman (VU) 6-4, 6-4
2. No. 18 Amanda McDowell (GT) def. No. 112 Keilly Ulery (VU) 6-0, 6-4
3. No. 64 Jackie Wu (VU) def. No. 43 Noelle Hickey (GT) 6-3, 6-2
4. No. 46 Christy Striplin (GT) def. Chelsea Preeg (VU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Sasha Krupina (GT) def. Heather Steinbauer (VU) 6-2, 6-3
6. Courtney Ulery (VU) def. Lynn Blau (GT) 6-3, 6-1
order of finish: 5, 3, 4, 2, 1*, 6
Doubles Results
1. Steinbauer / Wu (VU) def. No. 20 Hickey / Striplin (GT) 8-6
2. Falconi / Krupina (GT) def. Newman / Preeg (VU) 8-5
3. Ulery, C. / Ulery, K. (VU) def. Blau / McDowell (GT) 8-6
order of finish: 2, 3, 1*
