NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Commodore women’s tennis team started its Southeastern Conference slate off with a bang after they won four of the six singles matches, earning a 5-2 victory over 29th-ranked South Carolina Friday. Keilly Ulery, Chelsea Preeg, Courtney Ulery and Heather Steinbauer all posted singles wins after the `Dores took the doubles point by winning all three matches.
With the win, Vanderbilt improves to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the SEC. The loss drops South Carolina to 5-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play. VU now leads the all-time series with Gamecocks 15-11, including three wins in the last four meetings between the two schools.
“This is a huge win for our team at this point in the season,” head coach Geoff Macdonald said. “It’s always good to start the tough SEC season with a win, especially against a very good South Carolina team. We have played fewer matches than most of our opponents so today’s performance is very encouraging. I am real proud of the way our team played in doubles and they continued that strong play into singles play.”
The Commodores started the meet on the fast track, taking all three doubles matches from the Gamecocks. VU’s No. 1 pair of Jackie Wu and Steinbauer posted an impressive 8-3 win over USC’s 45th-ranked tandem of Ana Zubori and Natasa Vockovic. After winning splitting the first four games, Wu and Steinbauer won six of the last seven games to claim the win.
Catherine Newman and Preeg improved to 3-0 with an 8-6 win over Gira Schofield and Dijana Stojic in the second position while the Ulery sisters won for the second consecutive outing, posting an 8-6 win over USC’s Miljana Jocic and Ashley Miller.
In singles action, senior Courtney Ulery gave the `Dores a 2-0 advantage by sweeping USC’s Miller in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5. Following in her older sister’s footsteps, Keilly gained the third team point of the afternoon, dispatching Dijana Stojic in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.
The freshman trio of Preeg, Steinbauer and Wu all competed in their first SEC tiebreaker as two of three came away with the victory. After winning the first set 6-3, Preeg and USC’s Vuckovic battled back and forth for every point, setting up a classic 10-point two-set tiebreaker. In the end, Preeg’s resilient effort gave her a team-best 18th win of the season, claiming the tiebreaker 12-10.
Steinbauer showed a gritty effort of her own Friday by knocking off Jocic, 7-5, 2-6 (10-6 in the tiebreaker). The victory gives Steinbauer her third consecutive win and marks the 11th of the season for the The Woodlands, Texas native.
The Commodores will return to competition this Sunday (Mar. 8) as they host No. 31 Florida at the Currey Tennis Center. The dual meet with the Gators will get underway at 12:00 p.m.
The Gators (6-5, 0-1 SEC) fell to No. 14 Kentucky Friday 4-3. Florida is led by sophomore Marrit Boonstra (No. 8 singles) and junior Anastasia Revzina (No. 48 singles). In doubles the Gators are led by the 14th-ranked pair Megan Alexander and Boonstra and 69th-ranked duo of Jessica Alexander and Revzina.
Vanderbilt 5, South Carolina 2
Doubles Results
1. Steinbauer / Wu (VU) def. Zubori / Vuckovic (USC) 8-3
2. Newman / Preeg (VU) def. Schofield / Stojic (USC) 8-6
3. C. Ulery / K. Ulery (VU) def. Jocic / Miller (USC) 8-6
order of finish – 1, 3, 2
Singles Results
1. No. 33 Gira Schofield (USC) def. No. 50 Catherine Newman (VU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. No. 49 Ana Zubori (USC) def. No. 52 Jackie Wu (VU) 5-7, 6-4 (10-7)
3. No. 90 Keilly Ulery (VU) def. Dijana Stojic (USC) 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
4. Chelsea Preeg (VU) def. Natasa Vuckovic (USC) 6-3, 7-6 (12-10)
5. Courtney Ulery (VU) def. Ashley Miller (USC) 6-2, 7-5
6. Heather Steinbauer (VU) def. Miljana Jocic 7-5, 2-6 (10-6)
order of finish – 5, 3, 4, 2, 6, 1
