May 21, 2008
Follow Thursday’s NCAA Doubles Championship
TULSA, Okla. – Vanderbilt senior Amanda Taylor and sophomore Catherine Newman both dropped first round matches on Wednesday afternoon at the NCAA Singles Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa.
Taylor, ranked 17th in singles, easily won the opening set 6-1. The Richland, Wash., native enjoyed a 5-3 lead in the second set and was one point away from clinching the match. However, No. 7 McDowell battled back to win the next two games and even the second set 5-5. McDowell eventually won the second set 7-6 to force a decisive third set. The Georgia Tech sophomore won the third set 6-1 to advance to the second round.
The defeat ends the collegiate singles career of Taylor. The Vanderbilt senior enjoyed a spectacular career in singles, amassing 107 wins in her career against only 29 losses. She recorded at least 20 dual match singles wins each year as a Commodore.
No. 48 Newman dropped a straight set decision to Baylor’s 43rd-ranked Taylor Ormond. Ormond captured the opening set 6-1 and won the second set 7-5 to move on to the second round. Newman finishes her sophomore season with a 25-12 overall singles record, including a 15-9 dual match record.
Taylor and Courtney Ulery, ranked 21st in doubles, will open play in the NCAA Doubles Championship on Thursday against Romy Farah and Laura Vallverdu of Miami (FL). Live stats of that match will be available at tulsahurricane.com and a recap will be available on vucommodores.com.
NCAA Singles Championships – First Round
Michael D. Case Tennis Center – Tulsa, Okla.
No. 7 Amanda McDowell (Georgia Tech) def. No. 17 Amanda Taylor (Vanderbilt) – 1-6, 7-6, 6-1
No. 43 Taylor Ormond (Baylor) def. No. 48 Catherine Newman (Vanderbilt) – 6-1, 7-5
