April 19, 2018
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
Vanderbilt’s regular-season finale against Florida last Saturday was coming down to the wire when Commodores’ junior Summer Dvorak recognized the gravity of her match.
On a muggy afternoon in Gainesville, No. 3 Vanderbilt had fallen behind the 10th-ranked Gators, 3-1, late in singles action. But clutch wins by junior sophomore Emily Smith and sophomore Christina Rosca on courts six and two, respectively, knotted up the match, 3-3.
That meant the SEC rivalry — and the regular-season conference championship — came down to Dvorak on court five.
“When Chris and Emily both won, I was just beginning my third set, so I knew it could be a long time until the end,” Dvorak said.
The rest of the Commodores looked on as Dvorak and Florida’s Peggy Porter traded shot after shot. Porter owned a two break-point lead over Dvorak at 4-1 in the third and final set, but the Vanderbilt junior refused to buckle under pressure. Dvorak surged to claim five straight games, toppling Porter to secure Vanderbilt’s second straight SEC regular-season championship, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
The Commodores began their celebration before the result had truly sunk in for Dvorak.
“Once I saw my team running towards me,” Dvorak said, “that’s when I realized, we did it.”
WHAT A COMEBACK! Summer clinches the match, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4! #FIGHTDORES pic.twitter.com/U8JgGazgr9
— Vandy Women’s Tennis (@Vandywtennis) April 14, 2018
Last spring, Dvorak and the Commodores turned their regular-season SEC title into a championship at the conference tournament. That’s the goal for No. 2-ranked Vanderbilt this week as it ventures to Knoxville as defending SEC Tournament champs. The top-seeded Dores face either No. 8 Kentucky or No. 9 Texas A&M on Friday at 2 p.m. CT.
For Dvorak, each SEC match means a little more. The Laguna Beach, Calif. native has fought through injuries for much of her Vanderbilt career. Now healthy, Dvorak hopes to help power the Commodores toward yet another conference title — and beyond.
“It makes me feel lucky just to be playing,” Dvorak said. “Just to be out there and healthy, a lot of people take that for granted.”
A former top-50 recruit in the country, Dvorak battled shin splits early in her college career and was limited by a nagging wrist injury as a sophomore in 2016-17. But she has bounced back as a junior; heading into SECs, Dvorak rides a four-match winning streak in singles and is undefeated in both singles and doubles since March 31. That stretch included a 6-2, 6-4 singles win against No. 7 South Carolina last Thursday.
On Monday, Dvorak earned SEC Player of the Week honors for her performances against Florida and South Carolina. She was also named Vanderbilt’s Female Comeback Player of the Year at the athletic department’s annual Golden Dores banquet this week. Vanderbilt head coach Geoff Macdonald — in his 24nd season on West End — raved about Dvorak’s clutch play in Gainesville.
“What Summer did to come back in that match, the poise and the mental toughness, I’ve been around tennis my whole life, and it was one of the most impressive and brave performances I’ve seen from a player,” Macdonald said.
Dvorak is no stranger to athletic greatness. Her father, Dusty, is a member of the Volleyball Hall of Fame and helped Team USA take home a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. This week, the younger Dvorak could help Vanderbilt reclaim glory of its own by defending its SEC Tournament crown.
But as in Dvorak’s championship-clinching match in Gainesville, the Commodores can’t afford to lose focus.
“Teams are different in the postseason,” Dvorak said. “Anybody can beat you at any time. We’ve had some bumps in the road, like losing to Mississippi State a couple weeks ago. But coming off last weekend with a couple of good wins, we’re feeling confident in ourselves. We’ve gotten to the point where every spot in the lineup will fight until the end.”
Zac Ellis is the Writer and Digital Media Editor for Vanderbitl Athletics.