BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 8 Vanderbilt Commodores earned another road win, downing No. 27 LSU 5-1 to close out the regular season. With the victory, Vandy improves to 16-6 (11-2).
With poor weather and rain delays Sunday’s regular season finale in Baton Rouge, La. was off to a dramatic start. But as the squad has proven time and time again this season, when met with adversity the No. 8 Commodores band together and good things happen.
“I’m proud of the team for being resilient and getting over a tough loss on Friday,” said head coach Geoff Macdonald. “We played singles first because there was a 100% chance of rain in Baton Rouge. We lucked out and got the match in, but it was spitting rain throughout the match. They’re a very good team. I give a lot of credit to LSU. They’re probably one of the most improved teams in the conference”
With sprinkling rain and no indoor facility only singles action would be played out. The Commodores started out slow dropping three first sets, but momentum would shift as redshirt freshman, Astra Sharma, raced through her match on court two.
The Perth, Australia native squared off against No. 76 Skyler Kuykendall, breaking the juniors 11-match win steak; 6-0, 6-3.
Following Sharma’s victory Vandy collected two additional wins in a row, as seniors Ashleigh Antal and Marie Casares capped off their regular season careers with wins on courts six and five to give Vandy the 3-0 lead. VU’s lone loss came at No. 1 singles as No. 7 Sydney Campbell fell to No. 35 Joana Vale Costa; 7-6(5), 6-2.
“We won some convincing first set wins, but then we lost three first sets. I thought Courtney and Frances’s comebacks were really gutsy and gritty against two good LSU competitors.”
The Commodores success continued on courts three and four as juniors Frances Altick and Courtney Colton battled back from first set losses. Both Commodores rebounded in the second set, splitting 6-3. Both match scores continued to mirror one another as Colton won her third set 6-3, followed by Altick’s 6-3 to clinch the Commodore win.
Vanderbilt travels to Columbia, S.C. on Wednesday for the 2015 SEC Tournament. The `Dores are the No. 4 seed, and begin competition Friday at 11:00 am CT.
Results:
#8 Vanderbilt 5, #27 LSU 1
Singles competition
- #35 Joana Vale Costa (LSU) def. #7 Sydney Campbell (VANDY) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
- #44 Astra Sharma (VANDY) def. #76 Skylar Kuykendall (LSU) 6-0, 6-3
- Frances Altick (VANDY) def. Abigail Owens (LSU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-3
- #80 Courtney Colton (VANDY) def. Noel Scott (LSU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
- #88 Marie Casares (VANDY) def. Ella Taylor (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
- Ashleigh Antal (VANDY) def. Skylar Holloway (LSU) 6-3, 7-5
Match Notes:
Vanderbilt 16-6, 11-2; National ranking #8
LSU 17-9, 7-6; National ranking #27
Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (2,6,5,1,4,3)
