March 30, 2018
The second-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team hosts the 20th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats Saturday at noon in their second to last weekend of regular season home match play.
Heading into the weekend, Vanderbilt sits at 14-3 overall and 7-1 in Southeastern Conference play. The Commodores went 2-0 last weekend, sweeping in-state rival Tennessee and earning their fourth top-10 victory over then-No. 9 Georgia 4-2.
The Commodores will host a post-match youth clinic for kids 12 and under following Saturday’s competition.
Commodore Notables:
- Vanderbilt ranks second in the country, behind North Carolina, who VU beat 4-3 earlier this season
- The Commodores began the season ranked second and have not left the ITA top 10
- VU owns 12 ranked wins, with nine victories coming against top 25 teams
- Astra Sharma was named the league’s SEC Player of the Week for the second time this sea-son
- Vandy boasts four ranked singles players; No. 5 Fernanda Contreras, No. 14 Astra Sharma, No. 39 Christina Rosca and No. 97 Amanda Meyer
- The Dores have the potential to field two top 25 doubles duos; No. 19 Rosca/Emma Kurtz and No. 21 Contreras/Sharma
- Vandy has clinched the doubles point in 10-of-17 competitions
- Emma Kurtz and Emily Smith lead the squad in doubles clinches with four
- Contreras, Dvorak, Meyer, Rosca and Sharma all have three or less losses on the dual season
Watching the Wildcats:
- UK sits in the top-25 at No. 20 in the nation
- Kentucky (12-6, 4-4 SEC) looks to move above .500 in SEC play and earn its first top five win of the season
- The Wildcats are coming off a 4-1 victory over No. 37 Tennessee last Sunday
- In the rankings, senior Mami Adachi teams with fellow senior Emily Fanning to form the 41st-ranked duo in the nation
- Junior Justina Mikulskyte also comes in at No. 100 in the singles rankings
- Last season, the Wildcats upset a 10th-ranked Vanderbilt squad with a 4-2 win at home.