FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The fourth-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team escaped with their fourth Southeastern Conference victory of the season on Sunday afternoon, defeating No. 32 Arkansas 4-3.
With the victory, Vanderbilt improves to 11-2 on the year, 3-1 on the road and 4-0 in league action.
The Commodores were once again a man down versus the Razorbacks on Sunday, as Astra Sharma fell in the tournament final at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
The Razorbacks came out on fire in doubles, earning victories on courts one then two for the point advantage. Ranked 30th in the country, Arkansas’ Ana Oparenovic and Tatum Rice defeated Vandy’s Emma Kurtz and Emily Smith, 6-2, for the first win of the day. Fernanda Contreras and Summer Dvorak fell to the Hogs’ Giulia Pairone and Mia Jurasic, 6-3, for the clinch.
Christina Rosca and Amanda Meyer led on court three, 5-4, at the conclusion of doubles play.
Emily Smith leveled the overall team score to 1-all, taking a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Jackie Carr for her second dual match win of the season (2-0). No. 87 Oparenovic answered with a win of her own, giving Arkansas the 2-1 lead following a 6-1, 6-2 upset win over VU’s 27th-ranked Rosca. The loss was Rosca’s second of the season.
Vandy strung together back-to-back victories on courts four and five to give the black and gold their first lead of the match. Emma Kurtz handed Rice a close 7-5, 6-4 defeat, while Dvorak downed Agne Cepelyte 6-2, 7-5 for the 3-2 team advantage.
Arkansas earned their final point of the outing at No. 1 singles, as No. 5 Contreras lost a heartbreaker to No. 66 Pairone, 6-3, 7-6(4).
No. 98 Meyer clinched her first SEC victory to keep the squad undefeated in SEC play, defeating Arkansas’ Jurasic 7-6(4), 6-4 on court three for a 4-3 Vanderbilt win.
The Commodores remain on the road next weekend, traveling south to take on Mississippi State Friday at 3 p.m. and Ole Miss Sunday at 1 p.m.
