Sept. 13, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With tournament season officially kicking off in only 10 days, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released preseason rankings Tuesday morning with four student-athletes recognized.
Much like last season, Vanderbilt is well represented in the singles and doubles polls, as Sydney Campbell and Astra Sharma are two of 15 SEC singles players who help comprise the Oracle/ITA Top-25.
Campbell, who is now a senior, leads the squad for the second year in singles rankings. The two-time All-American begins her final season at No. 12 in the nation. Sharma sits just seven spots down, as the redshirt-junior from Perth, Australia is presently ranked No. 19 in the nation. Both Commodores also appear in doubles preseason rankings.
With the loss of Courtney Colton and Frances Altick, doubles pairings will be reassessed in 2017. Currently, Campbell and Rice transfer, Emily Smith, are leading the ‘Dores at No. 17 in the nation. Just a few months ago, Smith represented the Owls in last year’s NCAA tournament, and actually helped defeat Colton/Campbell at NCAA regionals here in Nashville.
Having played only two matches together (1-1), Sharma and sophomore Fernanda Contreras still have a great deal to prove together. However separately, both student-athletes excelled on courts two and three last season. Together the tandem is sure to bring fire and passion to the court in every outing.
Sharma/Contreras begin the preseason ranked 52nd in the country. The doubles ranking is the first time Contreras has appeared in either a singles or doubles ranking.
The Commodore squad begins fall ball on Sept. 23rd, traveling to one of their favorite tournaments, the Furman Fall Classic.