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No. 4 VU Women’s Tennis Falls At No. 3 Florida 3/6/2004 GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The fourth-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team suffered a tough Southeastern Conference loss Saturday at No. 3 Florida, 6-1. The Lady Gators banked on their home-court advantage, taking an early lead and keeping the Commodores out of the match, held at the Ring Tennis Complex. The Commodores failed to claim the doubles point for only the second time this season, and that spelled trouble for VU. The Dores’ top pair of seniors Kelly Schmandt and Aleke Tsoubanos were defeated on center court, 9-7, by the 11th-ranked pair of Alexis Gordon and Julie Rotondi, to clinch the doubles point for Florida. Vanderbilt won third doubles, behind the strong play of sophomore Ashley Schellhas and freshman Amanda Fish, but were unable to rally at second doubles. In singles, Florida jumped out quickly and won four first sets to put the Commodores in a deeper hole. Fish and Schmandt, both undefeated in dual-match play coming into the weekend, were the only Commodores to win their first sets. The remaining four Commodores would all fall in straight sets. With the Dores down 5-0, Fish continued to fight at third singles and took a 5-1 lead in the second set before Rotondi retired to give VU its lone point. The Commodores (11-2, 3-1 SEC) return to action on Sunday when they travel to Columbia, S.C., to face the 64th-ranked Lady Gamecocks on Sunday, March 7. No. 3 Florida def. No. 4 Vanderbilt, 6-1 Doubles Singles |
