NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Following a pair of victories last weekend over Xavier and No. 10 Ohio State, the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team has advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals to face Texas A&M at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Saturday marks the Commodores’ second appearance in the Sweet 16 in the last three years.
Scouting the Opponent
The seventh-ranked Aggies feature three ranked individuals at singles and tow doubles teams among the top-50. At singles, Carson Branstine currently ranks eighth nationally while Tatiana Makarova is 24th. Mary Stoiana has also highlighted the lineup for Texas A&M with a national ranking of 74.
At doubles, Jayci Goldsmith and Makarova pair up on Court 1 and currently rank sixth nationally while Branstine and Stoiana are 47th as a pair.
In their previous two meetings this season, Amy Stevens and Dasha Kourkina each defeated their Aggie competition. Their last meeting in College Station, Texas, came mid-March with the Aggies taking the 6-1 win over the Commodores before a tight rematch in the SEC quarterfinals last month. At the conference tournament the Dores fell 4-2 to the then-sixth ranked Aggies.
ITA Rankings
• Heading into the NCAA Super Regional, the Commodores rank 30th nationally and will play seventh-seeded Texas A&M.
• Anna Ross sits 46th in singles and was selected as an at-large participant in the NCAA Singles Championship. It will be her first individual appearance in the tournament.
• Annesa Lee and Holly Staff boast nearly identical records this season and currently rank 87th and 88th, respectively, in the ITA poll.
• Selected as alternates for the NCAA Doubles Championship, Ross and Staff currently rank 37th in the nation at doubles. The tandem boast an 8-4 record this season and went 6-2 in dual matches.
Up Next
The winner of Saturday’s contest will advance to the NCAA Championships (May 20-22) in Champaign, Illinois. Following the team tournament, Anna Ross will represent Vanderbilt at the NCAA Singles Championships (May 23-28).
