In-State Competition

A pair of in-state foes await Vanderbilt this weekend

No. 15 Vanderbilt Commodores (4-0)
vs.
Lipscomb Bisons & ETSU Bucs

LU: Feb. 6, 2021 • 1:30 p.m. CT | ETSU: Feb. 7, 2021 • Follows men’s match

In-State Competition

  • Playing the third and fourth matches of a five-match homestand, No. 15 Vanderbilt takes on in-state foes Lipscomb and ETSU this weekend on Feb. 6 and 7, respectively.
  • Due to COVID-19 protocols and social distancing guidelines, fans are not permitted to attend matches at Currey Tennis Center this weekend.
  • Fans can follow the match via live stream, live scoring or on Twitter by following @VandyWTennis.

ITA Rankings

  • The Commodores are currently ranked No. 15 in the country. The spot marks the second release in a row from the ITA placing Vanderbilt 15th.
  • While three teams started the year in the top 15, two SEC teams squads are currently top 15 with Georgia at No. 7 and Vandy at No. 15.
  • In addition to the team ranking, fifth-year senior Christina Rosca opens the season ranked No. 20 in the national singles poll. The spot makes her the second-highest ranked player in the SEC with Georgia’s Katarina Jokic at No. 16.

Elite Ranks

  • With a three-set victory on Jan. 17. against Western Kentucky, Rosca earned her 100th career singles victory.
  • To date throughout her career, she owns an overall 103-48 singles record.

Looking Astern

  • Earning a big nonconference victory last weekend, Vanderbilt took down Miami 5-2 to close January.
  • After winning the doubles point, four Commodores earned straight-set singles wins to help seal the victory, including a 6-2, 6-3 triumph by Anna Ross at No. 2 over 87th-ranked Daevenia Achong.

A New Captain

  • Over summer, Aleke Tsoubanos took over as the program’s head coach after 13 seasons on staff as an assistant coach.
  • With Tsoubanos taking over, Geoff Macdonald remains on staff as the program’s assistant coach.
  • One of the most-respected college coaching duos in the country, Tsoubanos and Macdonald led the Commodores to the program’s first national championship in 2015. The pair has also ushered the Dores to 236 wins, 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and back-to-back SEC Tournament and regular-season titles in 2017-18.
  • Tsoubanos’s first dual-match victory came Jan. 17 in a 7-0 sweep of Western Kentucky.

Badges of Honor

  • Holly Staff earned the first SEC Freshman of the Week honor on Jan. 28.
  • Since earning the honor, she has continued the dominant start to her collegiate career with a perfect 8-0 mark across singles and doubles this spring.

A Look Back at 2020

  • Last season, Vanderbilt went 7-3 across 10 matches with a 3-1 mark in conference play before the remainder of the year was canceled due to COVID-19. Two of those losses were by 4-3 scorelines against Arizona State and No. 36 LSU.
  • Rosca won each of her last five matches of the season, finishing the spring campaign with an 8-2 record and a 6-1 mark at No. 1 singles.
  • Cruz also had a strong debut season, going 5-1 on the year – all at No. 5 singles – before the shutdown.

On The Radar

  • Closing its nonconference slate next weekend, Vanderbilt will challenge itself against ACC competition with a home match against Louisville on Friday before visiting No. 6 Georgia Tech on Sunday.