Malibu, Calif. – Opening up the second day of the Oracle ITA Masters Friday morning, Vanderbilt senior Fernanda Contreras competed in the quarterfinals of mixed doubles with partner, Guanarteme Nuez from UT Arlington. In a tough battle, the duo fell short to partners Ito/Rioux from the University of Texas and Oklahoma State, 6-1.
Contreras quickly rebounded from the defeat as she headed into the Round of 16 in singles play. Contreras came back strong to defeat Pepperdine’s Adrijana Lekaj in a straight-set win, 6-3, 6-1, advancing to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, Contreras once again accomplished a straight-set win; 6-1, 6-3 against Winthrop’s Lauren Proctor confirming her spot in the semifinals of the Oracle ITA Masters.
Contreras hopes to continue her success as she competes in the singles play semifinals Saturday morning. Contreras said she is ultimately thankful for the opportunity to compete in the Masters and has no expectations for herself except to do her best.
“I’m just here to compete, have fun and give it my all,” said Contreras.
Vanderbilt associate head coach, Aleke Tsoubanos was very proud of Contreras’ performance as she heads into the semifinals.
“Fern was very sharp and focused today in both matches,” Tsoubanos said. “She played intelligent, disciplined tennis. I know she’s looking forward to another high-quality match and opportunity tomorrow with Estella. They are two great competitors, should be fun to watch.”
In Greenville, S.C. the Commodores saw multiple wins in singles play, only losing on one court. Freshman Carolyn Campana earned her first collegiate win as a Commodore by defeating Wake Forest’s Anna Ulyashchenko; 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.
The Dores started the day with a victory from doubles tandem Emily Smith and Carolyn Campana in a close match ending in a match tie break, 8-7 (7-5).
The Commodores went on to compete in the first round of singles play where six Dores advanced to the semifinals of their respective brackets; Campana, Summer Dvorak, Lauren Gish, Emma Kurtz, Amanda Meyer and Emily Smith.
The semifinals will take place Saturday morning at 9:15 a.m. CT where the Dores compete in hopes of continuing their success and making it to the championship rounds.
“This is the strongest field I have seen in the history of the tournament so we learned a lot today. Overall it was a good start to the season.” said head coach Geoff Macdonald.
The Commodores pick up action Saturday morning in South Carolina with one round of doubles followed by the semifinal round of singles while Contreras competes for a shot at making it to the finals and becoming champion of the Oracle ITA Masters.
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