VU Women Punch Ticket to Sweet 16

VU Women Punch Ticket to Sweet 16

5/14/2005

The No. 4 Vanderbilt women secured their place in the Sweet 16 on Saturday morning with an impressive, 4-0 victory over No. 27 South Alabama at the Currey Tennis Center.

“With the injuries we have had this year along with starting three freshman in the lineup, we are extremely excited to win this regional,” said Vanderbilt Head Coach Geoff Macdonald. “South Alabama is a tough team. The pressure was on us today and I think we handled it well.”

The Commodores took the first match of the day at the No. 2 doubles position. VU’s tandem of Taka Bertrand and Amanda Fish dropped USA’s Andrea Kurekova and Klara Jarova, 8-3.

The Jaguars knotted the doubles draw at 1-1 with their win at the second position. South Alabama’s Dominika Nemcovicova and Dijana Stanic outlasted VU’s Caroline Ferrell and Annie Menees, 8-5.

The all important doubles point came down to the matchup at the top slot. Vanderbilt’s No. 30 combo of Audra Falk and Amanda Taylor grabbed a 7-6 lead and Falk served out the match including a second-serve ace at 30-15 to land the point.

With the doubles point in hand, the Dores headed to the singles draw needing three wins to earn a spot in Athens, Ga.

VU’s Bertrand took care of South Alabama’s Maria Zivcicova in straights, 6-1, 6-1 to give the Dores a 2-0 cushion. The win improves the ITA’s Rookie Player of the Year to 20-6 in 2005.

Vanderbilt’s Taylor brought the Commodores to within one point of victory with her tremendous, 6-1, 6-2 triumph at No. 4. Taylor also boasts 20 wins this spring.

“The way our freshman have played at this year is just remarkable,” said Macdonald. “To do what they have done at this level both in the classroom and on the courts is just incredible.”

Commodore senior Falk closed out the match with her straight set win at the top spot over Andrea Kurekova, 6-2, 6-4.

The Commodores move on to face No. 13 North Carolina in the Round of 16 at the University of Georgia in Athens on Thursday, May 19 at Noon. Georgia hosts the NCAA Championships May 19-22.

Doubles
1. Falk/Taylor (VU) def. Zivcicova/Palenikova (USA), 8-6
2. Bertrand/Fish (VU) def. Jarova/Kurekova (USA), 8-3
3. Nemcovicova/Stanic (USA) def. Ferrell/Menees (VU), 8-5
Order: 2, 3, 1*
Singles
1. Audra Falk (VU) def. Andrea Kurekova (USA), 6-2, 6-4
2. Amanda Fish (VU) led. Ana Rupic (USA), 7-5, 5-2 DNF
3. Taka Bertrand (VU) def. Maria Zivcicova (USA), 6-1, 6-1
4. Amanda Taylor (VU) def. Katarina Palenikova (USA), 6-1, 6-2
5. Annie Menees (VU) vs. Dominika Nemcovicova (USA), 2-6, 6-2 DNF
6. Caroline Ferrell (VU) vs. Dijana Stanic (USA), 6-7, 3-2 DNF
Order: 3, 4, 1*