NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt women’s tennis enters the last month of its regular season hosting five of its final seven matches.
The Commodores are set to host South Carolina and Florida this Friday and Sunday. Opening the weekend, the Dores take on the 34th-ranked Gamecocks at 2 p.m. Friday before concluding the weekend series with a noon match against No. 16 Florida on Sunday.
Come Hungry
Early arriving fans at this weekend’s matches will receive complimentary food truck items while offer lasts.
- Friday, April 1: Creole Roll Food Truck (com/Creoleroll/)
- Sunday, April 3: Roscoe’s Smoked BBQ (com/)
Food trucks will open 30 minutes prior to match start.
Debriefing
Most recently, the Commodores picked up a 6-1 victory at Kentucky to improve to 10-6 on the season. Sophomore Holly Staff clinched the match with the team’s fourth point of the afternoon following an exciting three-set contest on Court 3. Anna Ross, Anessa Lee, Marcella Cruz and Dasha Kourkina also recorded wins in the road match.
Scouting Report
South Carolina comes to Music City with a 10-7 record and ranked 34th nationally The team has three individuals ranked among the top-100 in singles, including Sarah Hamner (second), Ayana Akli (61st) and Elise Mills (86th). The Gamecocks also have three doubles pairs ranked nationally with Hamner/Misa Malkin at 23rd, Megan Davies/Hamner ranked 38th and Akli/Malkin coming in 71st overall.
The Florida Gators visit Nashville with the No. 6 ranking and have multiple individuals highlighting both singles and doubles rankings. McCartney Kessler (22nd) and Marlee Zein (58th) rank among the top-60 at singles while Carly Briggs and Zein rank sixth nationally in doubles. Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee are ranked 34th nationally in doubles competition.
ITA Rankings
- Following their weekend win, the Commodores move to 40th nationally in the ITA Rankings.
- Ross, who owns a 12-7 record this season, ranks 57th nationally in singles.
- Heading into this weekend’s series, Lee ranks 72nd nationally with an 18-9 overall record at singles
- The duo of Staff and Ross currently sit 76th nationally in doubles, boasting a 5-3 record overall.
On the Radar
The Commodores return to the road for the final time this regular season next weekend when they make the trek to Knoxville, April 8, to take on Tennessee before rounding out the trip in Athens, Ga. at Georgia, April 10.