STARKVILLE, Miss. – The second-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team suffered a 4-3 upset Thursday night against Mississippi State.
The tight loss was the Commodores’ third loss of the season and first loss against an unranked team this year. The Dores now own an 11-3 overall record and 4-1 SEC slate.
Thursday’s tilt began with productive doubles play, as Vandy earned victories on courts one and two to clinch the point advantage. The Commodores altered doubles pairings with Astra Sharma and Amanda Meyer taking the first win on the day in a 6-3 victory over Madison Harrison/Khrystyna Voznia on court one.
Following a 7-5 loss on court two by Fernanda Contreras and Emily Smith, VU rebounded for the doubles point clinch with Lauren Gish and Christina Rosca defeating Sara Lizariturry/Anastasia Rentouli 6-4 on court three. The doubles appearance was Gish’s collegiate dual match debut.
The Bulldogs rallied in singles, splitting first sets with the Dores and earning the first singles win of the day. State’s Braun downed 27th-ranked Rosca in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, to level the overall match score at 1-all.
Ranked fifth in the country, Contreras narrowly escaped with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Magda Adloglou on court two. However, MSU’s Lizariturry pulled off a close win of her own for the maroon and white as the sophomore defeated Summer Dvorak, 7-5, 6-4.
No. 22 Sharma earned the Commodores their final point of the outing in a three-set competition on court one. The Aussie handed Harrison a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 loss for the 3-2 advantage.
Vanderbilt had opportunities to close out the match on both of the remaining courts, but the Bulldogs ensured the comeback victory on court six then four. Vozniak downed VU’s No. 6 player Smith in two tiebreakers 7-6(5), 7-6(8), while Anastasia Rentouli delivered the final blow against VU freshman Amanda Meyer 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(5) for the 4-3 clinch.
The Dores remain on the road in the Magnolia State on Saturday, facing No. 11 Ole Miss at 1 p.m.
