March 23, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 5 Commodores come off a successful weekend of league play at home, defeating No. 14 Texas A&M 6-1 and No. 18 LSU 5-2. To continue league action, Vanderbilt hosts instate rival Tennessee Thursday, March 24, at 4:00 pm CT and No. 3 UGA Saturday in a Top-5 showdown.
“Growing up in Nashville you always hear about the Vandy-UT rivalry”, said junior Sydney Campbell, “it’s just really cool to be a part of it now. It is always a tough, competitive match, and I’m really looking forward to competing in it tomorrow!”
Courtney Colton and Campbell remain in the top 10, falling one spot to No. 10 in the nation. Astra Sharma and Colton appear in the latest doubles rankings at No. 58. Having tinkered with lineups for the second weekend straight, the Commodores went 0-2 in doubles play in their last outings. However, with a deep singles lineup, VU rebounded in singles play during both matches. Against the LSU Tigers, the Commodores got off courts 2-6 in straight set victories.
Senior Frances Altick leads a trio of Commodores who appear in the latest rankings. No. 17 Altick owns an undefeated 10-0 record for the Commodores, and sits three victories away from her 100th career victory with Vandy. Sharma follows in the polls at No. 21, with Campbell ranked individually at 25th.
Tennessee currently owns the No. 58 ranking in the country, and a 7-8 record. In conference play, the Vols are 1-4 with a 4-2 victory at home against Alabama. The squad’s four losses of SEC play came against Ole Miss, MSU, Auburn and UGA.
The Volunteers boast one ranked singles player and doubles teams in the latest Oracle/ITA rankings. Sadie Hammond comes in at No. 42, and was named last week’s SEC Player of the Week. Eve Repic joins Hammond in tandems at No. 75.
Tennessee leads the series 34-23, however, the Dores have taken the last four of five competitions. In their last meeting, the Commodores dominated the Vols in Knoxville, 6-1.
The Bulldogs and Commodores lead the SEC in the Oracle/ITA rankings at No. 3 and 5 in the nation. Prior to its match against Vandy, Georgia takes on No. 23 Kentucky Thursday afternoon.
UGA maintains four players in the latest ITA singles poll, spearheaded by sophomore Ellen Perez who received her highest-ever ranking of No. 7. Junior Caroline Brinson came in 27th, Kennedy Shaffer at No. 56 and senior Silvia Garcia rounded out the quartet ranked 79th.
Georgia also has two doubles pairs ranked. Top-court duo Perez and Mariana Gould lead the way at No. 25, and the pairing of Garcia and Shaffer check in 63rd. That pair has yet to play together this spring.
In their last meeting, the Commodores defeated the Bulldogs 4-3 in Columbia, S.C. for the program’s first-ever SEC Championship.