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Vandy opens SEC play at home

Vandy opens SEC play at homeVandy opens SEC play at home

March 1, 2018

Southeastern Conference tennis action heats up this weekend at the Currey Tennis Center, as the reigning SEC champion Vanderbilt women’s tennis squad hosts No. 16 Auburn on Friday at 3 p.m. and No. 37 Alabama on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.

The fourth-ranked Commodores enter SEC play with a 7-2 record, having downed top-ranked North Carolina, 4-3, in their last competition. The Commodores’ two losses came against then-No. 24 Northwestern (4-2) last Friday and fourth-seeded Pepperdine in ITA National Indoor semifinals (4-3).

The SEC leads all conferences with seven teams ranked in the ITA top 25: Vanderbilt (No. 4); Ole Miss (7); Georgia (10); South Carolina (13); Kentucky (15); Auburn (16); Tennessee (17).

Commodore Notables:

  • Vanderbilt enters the weekend at No. 4 in the nation
  • Vandy heads into conference play as the SEC’s reigning regular season and tournament champion
  • The Commodores boast four ranked singles players: No. 5 Fernanda Contreras, No. 24 Christina Rosca, No. 56 Astra Sharma and No. 120 Emma Kurtz
  • Two doubles teams crack the ITA top-25: Sharma/Contreras (No. 23) and Rosca/Kurtz (No. 25)
  • Vanderbilt has downed two No. 1 teams in the nation: Stanford (7-0) and UNC (4-3)
  • Last season the Dores went 12-1 in SEC play, falling to Kentucky on the road

Tiger Tales:

  • Auburn enters SEC play with an 11-3 record
  • The Tigers’ three losses came against Princeton (4-2), Pepperdine (4-2) and Wake Forest (4-2)
  • Auburn has already swept eight teams this season
  • AU has two ranked singles players: Jaeda Daniel (60) and Taylor Russo (121)
  • Alizee Michaud and Russo rank 60thin doubles
  • Madeline Meredith is the SEC’s Freshman of the Week
  • Vanderbilt defeated Auburn 5-2 in the programs’ last meeting on March 24, 2017

Testing the Tide:

  • The Crimson Tide own a 12-3 record, falling to Washington, Wake Forest and Auburn
  • Alabama faces the Dores’ travel partner, No. 15 Kentucky, on Friday before heading to West End
  • Andie Daniell is the Crimson Tide’s lone ranked singles player
  • Daniell went on an eight-match win streak at the beginning of the season, playing on court one
  • Alabama picked up two SEC victories in 2017 over Kentucky and Auburn
  • Vanderbilt defeated Alabama 6-1 in Tuscaloosa last season