Oct. 8, 2016
Astra Sharma represented Vanderbilt University for the first time ever on the semifinal stage at the Riviera ITA All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The redshirt-junior played with physicality and composure throughout the match, but fell in the final four to UCLA’s Ena Shibahara, 6-3, 6-1.
“I didn’t have the best day out there,” said Sharma, “but I think Ena (Shibahara) played a really tough game and held her nerve well. I am really pleased with how I’ve progressed in this tournament; it gives me a lot of confidence to perform at such a high level with the best of college tennis. There are a lot of learning opportunities I can take away from these past few days. There are areas that I can do better in for sure, but I am very excited about how I can use this experience for matches later on in the season.”
Ranked No. 19 in the nation, Sharma’s journey to the tournament semifinals was no cakewalk, as only the best collegiate women’s tennis players are invited to contend in the first national championship of the 2016-17 season.
Sharma walked away from her first match in California with a huge victory over the No. 5 player in the nation, and last season’s ITA All-American runner-up. On Friday, the Aussie defeated the highest ranked freshman of the fall in three sets. One hour later, Sharma downed Pepperdine’s Mayer Sherif Ahmed in the quarterfinals, 7-6(4), 6-3.
Known for her sheer athleticism and technique, Sharma was tested early by the UCLA freshman. The Bruin, who fought into semifinals all the way from pre-qualying rounds, only allowed Sharma three games in the first set. While the Perth, Australia native battled point-for-point throughout the second set, games went in her opponent’s favor.
“Astra had a great run at the All-American tournament,” said assistant coach Boomer Saia. “I see how hard she works everyday, and she is very deserving of the run she put together here. Astra played some fantastic tennis this week as she strung together wins against some of the best players in the country.”
“Even though she came up a little short in today’s semifinal, Astra’s positive mentality and effort on the court this week has been rock solid and she handled adversity unbelievably well. Her mentality allowed her to play some of her best tennis to help her make the semifinals. Although Astra might be disappointed in the result today, I know she will be right back on the practice court working to get better. We are very proud of Astra and her accomplishment here, and we are excited to get back to work with the team to prepare for regionals.”
Sharma heads back to Nashville the first Vanderbilt All-American singles semifinalist. With that distinction comes one of only 32 spots in the singles draw of the ITA’s National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship. National Indoors will take place in Flushing, N.Y. at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center from Nov. 3-6.
June Stewart Invitational
“It was a tough day, with blustery conditions,” said head coach Geoff Macdonald. “but I thought we competed really well in both singles and doubles. It was hard with the weather to play ‘pretty tennis’ today, but we competed really well and earned great match experience.”
Commodore fans began day two of the June Stewart Invitational enjoying a Vanderbilt vs. Vanderbilt doubles matchup. In a highly competitive match, Fernanda Contreras / Emily Smith and Christina Rosca / Emma Kurtz duked it out front and center on court one. A close battle in cold and windy conditions, the fiery sophomore team of Contreras/Smith came out on top, 8-6.
Overall in tandems, VU went 4-3 on the day with Payton Robinette and Auburn’s Carolina Turner nearly take a victory over MTSU’s Zehnder/Zirilli, 8-5. The duo later fell to Ole Miss’ Sanford/Stevens, 8-1.
After a tough round of singles play, Sunday’s final day of the tournament competition will be highlighted by an all-Commodore flight championship. Both undefeated in individual play, Contreras and Rosca look forward to squaring off at the Currey Tennis Center.
Contreras and Rosca both defeated SEC opponents on Saturday afternoon in Auburn’s Alannah Griffin and Georgina Axon. Contreras cruised through her first set, 6-0, and managed to pullout the victory over Griffin in a competitive second set, 6-4.
In the premiere matchup of the day, Rosca edged out Axon for the first set, 6-4. However Axon put up a gusty performance to rally back into the competition and split sets, 6-2. Heading into the third set, Rosca refocused and dug deep to claim the victory, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
VU concludes the June Stewart Invitational with one round of doubles, followed by two rounds of singles on Sunday. First serve is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.