|
No. 5 Vanderbilt Women’s Tennis Sweeps Mississippi State, 7-0 2/29/2004 STARKVILLE, Miss. – The fifth-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team captured a 7-0 decision over Mississippi State Sunday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. The Commodores moved to 3-0 in the Southeastern Conference and have won their last 14 matchups against the Lady Bulldogs. Vanderbilt’s top two doubles teams were too much for Mississippi State. The second-ranked duo of seniors Kelly Schmandt and Aleke Tsoubanos earned an 8-1 win at first doubles, while the 10th-ranked pairing of juniors Audra Falk and Annie Menees clinched the point with a 8-6 victory at second doubles. The Commodores took a 1-0 advantage into singles play, where they jumped out to early leads on all six courts. Vanderbilt gave up only nine games in winning all six first sets to keep the pressure on the Lady Bulldogs. The Dores tightened their grip, sacrificing only eight games in the second sets to finish off straight-set wins at all six positions. Menees was the first off the court. At fifth singles, she defeated MSU’s Yumi Ueda, 6-2, 6-0. Menees’ classmate Falk was not far behind. Falk posted a shutout against Anastasia Kugakolova at first singles, 6-0, 6-0. Freshman Amanda Fish clinched the match for Vanderbilt, putting away Lady Bulldog Tarryn Rudman, 6-2, 6-2. The remaining three matches had similar results. Schmandt and Tsoubanos both were victorious in matches at second and fourth singles, respectively. Sophomore Ashley Schellhas closed out the sweep with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Hayley Rudman at sixth singles. For the Commodores (11-1, 3-0 in the SEC), it was their seventh shutout victory of the season. Vanderbilt returns to action next weekend, travelling to Florida on March 5 before heading to South Carolina on March 7. The Commodores then will return home for a Tuesday match against Middle Tennessee on March 15. No. 5 Vanderbilt def. Mississippi State, 7-0 Doubles Singles |
