April 6, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Â- The No. 7 Vanderbilt women’s tennis team hits the road for two final regular season matches, facing a pair of top-25 opponents in No. 22 Texas A&M on Friday at 4 p.m. and No. 21 LSU on Sunday at 11 a.m.
The Commodores have had success in Southeastern Conference play, boasting a 13-5 overall record and 8-1 league mark. Vandy’s lone league loss came on the road in a 4-2 battle against the then-No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats. Since the loss, the Dores have taken five straight, most recently defeating Missouri and Arkansas last weekend.
Four Commodores appeared in the latest Oracle/ITA singles rankings. Astra Sharma, who had led the SEC in the singles poll the entire season, climbed one spot to No. 4 in the country. Sydney Campbell and Christina Rosca follow the redshirt junior at No. 15 and 72, respectively, while Fernanda Contreras made her debut at No. 96. Individually, four Vandy student-athletes own two losses or fewer on the season (Campbell, Contreras, Smith and Emma Kurtz).
In tandems, Sharma and Emily Smith hold their place in the top-10. With five SEC teams making up half the top-10, the 10th-ranked pair boasts an impressive 8-2 (4-2) record.
Awaiting the Aggies:
Vanderbilt travels to College Station for the first time since the Aggies ended the Dores’ hopes of a 2015 regular season SEC championship. With an 11-10 (3-6) record, Texas A&M sits at No. 22 in the country. The Aggies’ three league victories came against No. 5 Auburn, Alabama and in the latest match against Ole Miss.
In doubles, A&M has a top-10 pairing in No. 6 Rutuja Bhosale and Rachel Pierson. The team has just one conference loss and owns a 12-4 dual match record. Both student-athletes appear in the individual poll, with Pierson in at No. 37 and Bhosale 107th.
Last season, the Commodores powered past the No. 14 Aggies, 6-1, in the first women’s tennis match broadcasted on the SEC Network+. The win was also the Dores’ first-ever conference win over A&M.
Testing the Tigers:
LSU heads into the weekend ranked No. 21 in the country. The squad owns a 12-6 overall record, while going 5-4 in conference play and 10-1 at home.
Jade Lewis and Joana Valle Costa represent the Tigers in the latest ITA singles poll, ranked 34th and 102nd. Valle Costa teams up with Ryann Foster as the No. 24 doubles team. While the duo has lost its last three competitions, two of the three losses came against fellow top-25 foes.
In their last competition, the Dores downed No. 18 LSU, 5-2, for their 10th win of the season.
For updates and a behind the scenes looks at the Vanderbilt program, follow @VandyWTennis on Twitter.
