NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Keilly Ulery came up huge for the Commodores with a three-set win in the No. 6 match to lift Vanderbilt past No. 9 Northwestern in the season opener on Friday afternoon. The match, which pitted several ranked opponents against each other, took nearly five and a half hours and saw three singles matches go to three sets.
The ‘Dores got on the scoreboard first after picking up two wins in doubles play. Rachael Dillon and Alex Leatu handed Elena Chernyakova and Maria Mosolova an 8-3 defeat on court two to give Vanderbilt an advantage. Ulery and Lauren Mira clinched the point for the home team with an 8-4 victory in the No. 3 match. The Commodores were unable to sweep the doubles matches as Jackie Wu and Chelsea Preeg fell, 8-4, to Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton on court one.
In singles action, Northwestern’s Kate Turvy tied the match at 1-1 with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Preeg. Just 15 minutes later, Dillon gave the Commodores the lead again with a 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 76 Belinda Niu. Maria Mosolova of Northwestern took no time tying the match for the second time with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Alex Leatu in the No. 1 matchup.
Vanderbilt once again took the lead as Mira claimed a three-set victory in the No. 5 match. She fell behind 4-6 in the first set, but reversed the score for the second set victory, and posted a 6-1 score in the deciding set. On court two, Wu and Northwestern’s Brittany Wowchuck split their first two sets, 6-3, 4-6, and battled to a 4-4 tie in the third set. Wu couldn’t hold on and dropped a 6-4 decision.
With the match tied at 3-3, the final point came down to the No. 6 matchup between Ulery and Northwestern’s Stacey Lee. Ulery fell behind after dropping the first set, 1-6, but battled back with a 6-4 victory in the second. She jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third set, but Lee quickly tied it up. Again, Ulery jumped out to a lead but Lee got it right back and tied it at 5-5. As Lee was battling through injury, Ulery was able to score the final two points to clinch the match for the Commodores.
The Commodores travel to Clemson, S.C. next weekend to play in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Vanderbilt is slated to face Marshall in the first round on Saturday and either Clemson or Dartmouth on Sunday.
No. 26 Vanderbilt 4, No. 9 Northwestern 3
Singles
1. No. 52 Maria Mosolova (NU) def. No. 50 Alex Leatu (VU) 6-3, 6-3
2. No. 66 Brittany Wowchuck (NU) def. No. 83 Jackie Wu (VU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
3. No. 120 Kate Turvy (NU) def. No. 89 Chelsea Preeg (VU) 6-1, 6-0
4. No. 64 Rachael Dillon (VU) def. No. 76 Belinda Niu (NU) 6-2, 6-4
5. No. 119 Lauren Mira (VU) def. Linda Abu Mushrefova (NU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
6. Keilly Ulery (VU) def. Stacey Lee (NU) 1-6, 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish: 3, 4, 1, 5, 2, 6*
Doubles
1. No. 30 Abu Mushrefova/Hamilton (NU) def. No. 53 Wu/Preeg (VU) 8-4
2. No. 20 Dillon/Leatu (VU) def. Chernyakova/Mosolova (NU) 8-3
3. Ulery/Mira (VU) def. Wowchuck/Turvy (NU) 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
