March 25, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team returns to Southeastern Conference play this weekend as they travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday to face Alabama at 3 p.m. CT, before returning home to Nashville to play host to Auburn on Sunday at noon.
The road trip to Tuscaloosa marks the first road trip for the Commodores since they traveled to Ole Miss and Mississippi State on the weekend of March 5-7.
The 29th-ranked Commodores (7-6, 2-2 SEC) are coming off a pair of hard-fought 4-3 losses to No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 36 Georgia Tech last weekend. VU will look to snap its three-match losing streak this weekend and will have a great chance to do so with the recent success it has had with the two programs from the Yellowhammer state.
Despite the three-match losing streak, five of Vanderbilt’s six losses this season have been 4-3 setbacks while all six of the losses have come to teams currently ranked inside the top-30.
Vanderbilt is led by senior captain Catherine Newman who is putting together a very strong season for the Commodores. The Greensboro, N.C., native is 9-4 in singles, including 6-3 at the No. 1 position. Newman enters the weekend with a team-high 100 career wins. The three-time All-SEC honoree notched her 100th-career win last weekend with a straight set win over Notre Dame’s 14th-rated Kristy Frilling at No. 1.
Sophomores Chelsea Preeg and Jackie Wu are off to a strong start in the 2010 season, and have been a force at the top of the singles and doubles lineup all season. Preeg was recently named the SEC Player of the Week after going undefeated in singles against a pair of ranked opponents from Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. The Naples, Fla., native also teamed up with Wu to clinch the doubles point from Georgia Tech at No. 1 doubles last Sunday. Preeg is 5-2 at No. 2 singles this year, including 3-1 in the SEC.
The ‘Dores have three players ranked in the latest ITA singles poll, led by Wu at No. 24. Newman is ranked 38th while Preeg is 76th.
All-Time Series vs. Alabama
Vanderbilt leads the all-time series with Alabama 19-15, in a series that dates back to 1976. The Commodores have won the last 15 dual meetings with the Crimson Tide dating back to the 1995 season. Vanderbilt is 15-0 against the Tide under head coach Geoff Macdonald. Last season, VU defeated the 17th-ranked Tide, 5-2 in Nashville.
All-Time Series vs. Auburn
Vanderbilt leads the all-time series with Auburn 20-14. The Commodores have won the last 18 meetings with Auburn, dating back to 1994. Since the arrival of Coach Macdonald in 1995, the ‘Dores have gone a perfect 17-0 against the Tigers. Last season Vanderbilt knocked-off 31st-ranked Auburn, 4-3 in a match played down on the plains.
A Closer Look at Alabama
The 71st-ranked Crimson Tide (7-7) currently stand in sixth place in the SEC west division with a league record of 0-4. Last weekend Alabama snapped a four-match losing streak by defeating then-No. 67 Tulane, 4-0 on. The Tide are led in singles by freshman-phenom Alexa Guarachi, who enters the weekend ranked No. 39 nationally while playing primarily at No. 1. Alabama is led in doubles by the duo of Courtney McLane and Guarachi, who enter the weekend ranked 60th nationally.
A Closer Look at Auburn
Auburn (7-5, 1-3 SEC) will host Kentucky (2-12, 0-4 SEC) on Friday afternoon before making the trek to the Music City to play the Commodores. The Tigers are coming off a successful spring break trip to Orlando where they played singles and doubles matches against Oklahoma State and Indiana. Auburn lost its first three conference matches of the season, falling to Tennessee (L, 6-1), Georgia (L, 4-3) and Florida (L, 6-1) before rebounding to win its first conference match of the season against South Carolina, edging the Gamecocks, 4-3 in Auburn on March 14. The Tigers are led by senior and three-time ITA All-American Fani Chifchieva.
Live Stats of Friday’s match at Alabama will be offered on vucommodores.com, courtesy of rolltide.com. Click the link at the top of the page to follow the action live.
All home matches are free of charge and are open to the public.