Feb. 8, 2007
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt women’s tennis player Amanda Taylor was named the SEC’s Player of the Week for her undefeated singles performance last weekend in the ITA Team Indoors tournament, which featured teams ranked in the ITA’s Top 20.
Taylor started the weekend with a straight set upset over No. 1 Stanford’s 13th ranked Celia Durkin, marking Durkin’s first loss of the season. Taylor followed with wins over Maria Klokotzky of No. 12 Virginia Commonwealth (6-3, 6-0) and Kewa Nichols of No. 15 Texas Christian (6-2, 6-2). With the wins, Taylor improved her spring singles record to 5-2 and combined year total to 15-5.
“It’s a richly deserved award,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Geoff Macdonald said. “We struggled with injury and illness but she played three superb matches. She convincingly defeated some of the best players in the country.”
‘Dores Take Time Off to Recover
The No. 23 Vanderbilt women’s tennis team will take more than a week off dual match play before facing cross-town rival Middle Tennessee State on Friday, February 16.
The Commodores are 2-5, their rockiest season start since 1989, when the team posted a humble 3-18 record.
The squad, ranked 12th at the start of the season, has been without team captain and No. 1 singles competitor Amanda Fish for the first six matches due to injury. During the ITA tournament where the Commodores dropped all three matches, starter Courtney Ulery was also out due to illness.
“This hasn’t happened since I’ve been here,” said Vanderbilt Head Coach Geoff Macdonald, currently in his 13th season with the Commodores. “It’s tough playing without two starters regardless of the situation and we have one of the toughest schedules in the country. But we’ll use this time to get healthy and regroup. I’m confident in our team’s ability to recover.”