May 25, 2017
ATHENS, Ga. – With a straight-set victory over No. 45 Arkansas’ Shannon Hudson, 15th-ranked Sydney Campbell of the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team will compete in tomorrow’s NCAA Sweet 16 singles match against No. 5 Ena Shibahara.
“Hudson was a very tricky opponent,” said Campbell, “she returns a lot of balls and made me have to raise my level to be able to win points against her, but I did a good job of fighting back to get the second set. I’m so excited to still be competing in the tournament since it’s my last year and I’m hoping to continue to play well and see what happens.”
Campbell is the second consecutive Commodore to appear in the NCAA Sweet 16 following Frances Altick’s 2016 run. Campbell is the second Commodore to compete in the round of 16 since Audra Falk in 2005.
To advance to the round of 16, Campbell had to battle a familiar SEC foe in Hudson. During the dual match season VU’s then-No. 5 Astra Sharma downed the Razorback 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 1 singles position. Campbell, a recent Vanderbilt graduate and Franklin, Tenn. native earned the first-set advantage over Hudson, 6-4, then broke on a deuce point to force a second-set tiebreaker.
Campbell, a three-time All-American, flew through the tiebreaker, taking five straight points before Campbell sailed a forehand just long to give the Razorback her lone point of the breaker. The Vandy student-athlete sealed her first appearance in the Sweet 16, sending a beautiful chip which Hudson returned into the net, 6-4, 7-6(1).
For updates throughout the NCAA tournament, follow at @VandyWTennis on Twitter.