NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 12 Vanderbilt Commodores continued their SEC success at the Currey Tennis Center, defeating the No. 38 Arkansas Razorbacks in a 6-1 victory. With the win, Vandy owns an 11-5 overall record, 6-1 SEC slate, and 8-0 home mark.
“That was a tough Arkansas team we played today,” said head coach Geoff Macdonald, “and although we won 6-1 the match was closer than that. They were very competitive in certain spots and I give a lot of credit today to Marie Casares. Everyone played quite well, but she and Frances (Altick) winning at No. 3 doubles was really key. In singles they also both played really really well in their positions. The Sunday match in the SEC can be the tricky one because you can be a little bit tired or have low energy, but I thought we just took care of business really well.”
The Commodores began Sunday’s competition taking the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. No. 30 Ashleigh Antal and Astra Sharma maintained their undefeated status by taking down Jurasic/Craft in an 8-5 victory. On court three, Marie Casares and Frances Altick garnered their 4th win in a row as they took down Araujo/Shkorupeieva 8-4.
With the doubles point in the Commodores’ possession, Vanderbilt took the court for singles play with hopes of defeating the Razorbacks for the sixth year in a row.
Senior Marie Casares (72) took care of business on court six, only allowing her opponent three games in her no-nonsense 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jurasic. Follwing Casares’s win, No. 9 Sydney Campbell earned her 29th victory of the season as she defeated No. 117 Yulia Lysa, 6-2, 6-4.
Astra Sharma clinched the Commodore win on court two as the redshirt freshman downed Makenzie Craft in an easy 6-1 first set win. Sharma was up 5-0 in her second set, but yielded two games to the Razorback in her 6-2 second set. In her first set No. 96 Altick was toe-to-toe with her opponent, but came out on top with a 6-4 victory. The Commodore junior was on fire in her second set only giving up one game as she won court four; 6-4, 6-1.
After falling in her first set 7-5, Antal powered past Araujo on court five to take her second set 6-2. Forced to a 10-point match tiebreaker, Antal’s confident play continued as she took the tiebreak in a 1-0(3) victory.
No. 84 Courtney Colton came out strong taking her first set 6-2. After tying the second set 3-all, Arkansas’s Shannon Hudson put up three games in a row to take the set 6-3. Colton put up a great effort in match tiebreaker, but came up short as Hudson won the match 1-0(5).
The Commodores continue conference action next weekend, traveling to Auburn Friday and taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide Sunday.
Results:
No. 12 Vanderbilt 6, No. 38 Arkansas 1
Doubles:
1) No. 15 Sydney Campbell/Courtney Colton (VU) led Yulia Lysa/Shannon Hudson (ARK); 6-5
2) No. 30 Ashleigh Antal/Astra Sharma (VU) def. Mia Jurasic/Makenzie Craft (ARK); 8-5
3) Marie Casares/Frances Altick (VU) def. Flavia Araujo/Sasha Shkorupeieva (ARK); 8-4
Order of Finish; 2, 3*
Singles:
1) No. 9 Sydney Campbell (VU) def. Yulia Lysa (ARK); 6-2, 6-4
2) No. 77 Astra Sharma (VU) def. Makenzie Craft (ARK); 6-1, 6-2
3) Shannon Hudson (ARK) def. No. 84 Courtney Colton (VU); 2-6, 6-3, 1-0(5)
4) No. 96 Frances Altick (VU) def. Sasha Shkorupeieva (ARK); 6-4, 6-1
5) Ashleigh Antal (VU) def. Flavia Araujo (ARK); 5-7, 6-2, 1-0(3)
6) No. 72 Marie Casares (VU) def. Mia Jurasic (ARK); 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish; 6, 1, 2*, 4, 5, 2
