NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the second time this season, the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team has been involved in a match that was tied 3-3, with the No. 6 singles match as the only match left in play. And for the second time this season, senior Keilly Ulery held off her opponent in a three-set match to clinch the win for the Commodores over 13th ranked Notre Dame.
The Commodores opened up the afternoon by winning two of three doubles matches. Chelsea Preeg and Jackie Wu defeated Chrissie McGaffigan and Kristen Rafael, 8-4 in the No. 2 match. Ulery and Lauren Mira clinched the doubles point with an 8-3 win on court three.
Shannon Mathews evened the score when singles play began with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Alex Leatu in the No. 2 match, and Kristy Friling, ranked ninth in the nation, gave the Irish the lead with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Wu in the No. 1 match. Mira quickly tied things up again with a 7-6(6), 6-4 win over No. 78 McGaffigan on court four.
Once again, the match was tied after Jennifer Kellner defeatd Rachael Dillon in the No. 5 match. Preeg wouldn’t let the Irish stay on top for long though, as she posted a 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 win over No. 79 Rafael on court three.
With the match knotted a 3-3, Ulery dropped her first set, 4-6, but tied it up with a 6-4 win in the second. She was able to hold off Notre Dame’s Julie Sabacinski, 7-6(4) in the third set to claim the win for the Commodores.
Vanderbilt wraps up the weekend with a Sunday morning match at No. 8 Michigan. Live scoring and video of the match will be available . The Big Ten Network will be replaying the match on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 10 a.m. CT.
