Feb. 28, 2008
Match Notes: No. 14 Vanderbilt at No. 7 Florida | Notes: at South Carolina
Live Stats: Vanderbilt at Florida | Live Stats: at South Carolina
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 14 Vanderbilt women’s tennis team opens Southeastern Conference play this weekend, traveling to No. 7 Florida on Friday and No. 30 South Carolina on Sunday.
“It should be great competition this weekend,” Vanderbilt women’s tennis head coach Geoff Macdonald said. “We’re starting out against two great teams, so I look forward to the competition.”
Vanderbilt enters conference play with a 7-0 record. The Commodores are the only undefeated team remaining in the SEC. The `Dores picked up their seventh win of the year on February 20 when they swept Middle Tennessee State 7-0. Vanderbilt quickly grabbed the doubles point and won each singles match in straight sets. Junior Courtney Ulery won her 20th-consecutive singles match, which is a school record.
Florida enters Friday’s match with a 6-1 record and is ranked seventh nationally. The Gators only loss came at Duke, in a hard-fought 4-3 decision. Florida has four players ranked nationally in singles, led by Csilla Borsanyi at No. 26 and Megan Alexander at No. 58. They also have two doubles teams ranked in the top 32 in the country.
“Florida is one of the perennial contenders for the national championship and the SEC championship,” Macdonald added. “They have probably been the best program in the SEC for the last 20 to 25 years. We know they always good. We’re looking forward to playing them.”
Florida leads the overall series against Vanderbilt 33-2. Vanderbilt’s last win in the series came on March 11, 2005, when Vanderbilt narrowly defeated Florida 4-3. The Commodores have never won a match played in Gainesville. Florida currently owns a 60-match regular season winning streak at home.
South Carolina enters conference play with a 6-1 mark. The Gamecocks are ranked 30th in the country. South Carolina has two players ranked nationally in singles, led by Gira Schofield, who is rated 35th. The doubles team of Schofield and Ana Zubori is ranked 17th nationally. South Carolina will open conference play on Friday against Kentucky.
“South Carolina is way better than their national ranking,” Macdonald said. “They are a top-15 team. It’s probably one of the best years I’ve seen in the SEC. There are seven or eight fantastic teams.”
Vanderbilt leads the all-time series against South Carolina 14-10. The Commodores have controlled recent meetings between the two schools, winning eight of the last 10 meetings.
Opening serve against Florida is slated for 4 p.m. (CST), while the match against South Carolina is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. (CST).