NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team defeated Miami 4-1 on Sunday at the Currey Tennis Center to advance to 2-1 at home.
“I’m really pleased with today’s effort. Miami is a team we know and respect, they play really disciplined tennis,” Vanderbilt head coach Geoff Macdonald said. “Our level of competition today was superb. It was a total team effort and a really important step for us.”
The Commodores started strong to command the lead by taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2.
Dore duo Anna Ross and Emma Kurtz led the Dores to the first victory of the day with a swift 6-1 win over on Court 2.
Freshman pair Dasha Kourkina and Marcella Cruz fell short 6-, to force the doubles point decision to Court 1.
At No. 1, Christina Rosca and Georgia Drummy stepped up to win 6-4.
Leading 1-0 into singles play, the Commodores remained confident to claim five sets.
At No.2, Drummy commanded the Dores’ first singles win with a straight set victory 6-2, 6-3 to advance the Commodores lead to 2-0 over the Hurricanes.
Collecting another straight set win, Ross fought back in the first set tiebreak to claim the set 7-6 (2). In the second set, the freshman held Maya Tahan to four games to put the Dores up 3-0.
“It was a really big day for our freshmen,” Macdonald said. “Anna Ross got it started with a straight set win over a good player. She served really well, it was nice to see her improvement.”
Continuing a successful run for the freshmen, Cruz stepped up to clinch the match for the Commodores with a dominant performance at No. 5.
.@marcella_cruz with the CLINCH. 💥
Dores defeat Miami at the Currey Tennis Center, 4-1. #FightDores | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/Ylz6ZUVSba
— Vanderbilt Women’s Tennis (@VandyWTennis) February 8, 2020
Cruz battled back in the first set to win 7-5 followed by clinching the match with a 6-4 victory in the second set, marking the final score of the match, 4-1.
“Marcella Cruz had a really great day,” Macdonald said. “We know she is a really good player. I was very pleased to see Marcella get the clinch. I thought she played good, gutsy, tennis.”
Vanderbilt returns to action Feb. 16 to host Ohio State.
Follow along with the Dores as they prepare by following @VandyWTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
