April 9, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 8 Vanderbilt women’s tennis travels south to take on the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies Friday at 2:00. The `Dores head east to the Bayou state on Sunday, wrapping up dual play against the No. 27 LSU Tigers. The `Dores are currently in a three-way tie with Florida and Georgia for first place in the SEC. Vanderbilt defeated UF, but fell to UGA. Florida and Georgia play each other this weekend.
Live Stats vs. TAMU: HERE
Live Stats vs. LSU:
“We’ve got two really really talented team this weekend…” said head coach Geoff Macdonald, “…welcome to the SEC”. We’re looking at some rough weather so there is a lot of talk about where we will play and when because neither team has an indoor facility right now. So we’ve got some logistical issues at both places right now, but we’ll handle it. We had a great week of practice and we’re looking forward to the last week of SEC matches. After this weekend we’ll come back home then have a pretty quick turn around and head to South Carolina for the SEC tournament.”
Last time out:
The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team had another exceptional weekend, defeating No. 31 South Carolina and upsetting No. 6 Florida to go undefeated in dual play for the second year in a row; a 21-0 win streak. Following senior day festivities, senior Marie Casares generated her 100th win with her victory on court five over the Gamecocks.
Last Sunday, VU came out strong taking the doubles point on courts two and three. Astra Sharma and Ashleigh Antal remain undefeated (10-0) in the No. 2 spot of the Vandy doubles lineup.
In singles action, No. 12 Sydney Campbell played her way into the Vanderbilt record books, upsetting No. 5 Austin to earn her 33rd singles win of the year. No. 71 Astra Sharma recorded her best performance as a Commodore thus far, defeating No. 7 Kuhlman to give the Gators their first SEC loss of the year.
Scouting the No. 10 Aggies:
The Commodores head to College Station to face a strong Aggie team, who boast an 12-4 dual mark, 9-2 SEC record. Last weekend TAMU swept the Missouri Tigers in Columbia 7-0, and the Arkansas Razorbacks 5-2 in Fayetteville. Wednesday night the Aggies knocked off No. 7 Baylor in a top 10 non-con match, 4-3.
TAMU boasts four singles player in the ITA rankings, with sophomore Rachel Pierson leading the squad at No. 39. Following Pierson are Saska Gavrilovska (45), Rutuja Bhosale (52) and Stefania Hristov (124). Gavrilozska is currently riding a six-match win streak with wins coming in the Nos. 3 and 4 singles.
In doubles action Hristov and Ines Deheza lead the Aggie as the No. 18 team in the nation. On a team leading five-match win streak, Eva Paalma and Pierson follow behind at No. 33. Pierson and Deheza team up to form the No. 42 doubles duo. The Aggies have a fifth ranked team in Bhosale Gavrilovska who round out the quintet at No. 68
Pierson, a transfer from Virginia, earned ITA All-American doubles honors with partner Julia Elbaba as a No. 5-8 seeded tandem at the NCAA Doubles Championship.
Last season the Commodores fell 4-2 to the Aggies in Nashville.
Scouting the No. 27 Tigers:
LSU currently own a 17-8 overall record, and 7-5 SEC slate. The Tigers own a winning 9-4 record at the `Dub’ Robinson Stadium. Last time out the Tigers split their last road weekend; falling 4-2 to the Razorbacks, but defeating the Missouri Tigers Sunday, 6-1. Thursday afternoon the Tigers swept Kentucky, 4-0.
In singles action, the Tigers have just two singles players in the latest ITA rankings; sophomore No. 35 Joana Vale Costa and No. 76 Skylar Kuykendall. Kuykendall, a junior from Ala. boasts a 10-match win streak, claiming eight of 10 victories in just two sets on court two. In tandems the tigers’ Joana Vale Costa and Noel Scott come in at No. 50.
In their last meeting, Vanderbilt swept LSU in an easy 7-0 decision.