CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The No. 11 Vanderbilt women’s tennis team began their season this morning in Coral Gables, Fla. at the Miami Spring Invitational. The Commodores went 9-1; going undefeated in doubles and picking up a solid ranked win in singles action.
“We had a really great first day”, said head coach Geoff Macdonald. ” I felt we competed really well and it was a great way to start the season. Tomorrow we have the same schedule as today. We’re mixing teams up a little bit and playing people in different positions… we’re giving people some different opportunities. But really the team did a great job. For not having played a match as a team since October, I thought it was a wonderful first day.”
The Commodores officially began their season this morning facing the No. 44 Utah Utes in doubles. As mentioned by head coach Geoff Macdonald the first day of play saw changes in the Vandy lineup. Ashleigh Antal and Marie Casares defeated the Utes’ Richter/Gerster in a easy 6-2 decision. Both tandems teams, Altick/Sharma and Sellyn/Campbell, brought home 6-3 wins to complete the trifecta.
Vanderbilt went 6-1 against the No. 22 Texas Longhorns in singles. No. 15 Sydney Campbell squared-off against Texas’ sole ranked player in No. 84 Breaunna Addion. Campbell, a sophomore from Franklin, Tenn. defeated the Longhorn junior, 6-3, 6-1. The victory was Campbell’s seventh of the year against a ranked opponent.
Head coach Macdonald was impressed with the performances by juniors Frances Altick and Georgina Sellyn, who were both injured during the fall. Both athletes played like they hadn’t missed a moment of tennis, working for every point.
“Great starts for both of them [Altick and Sellyn], you know for them to be out with some injuries, both played superb matches coming back. Sometimes when you haven’t played you have some mental lapses, there were very few for us.”
The `Dores are back in action Saturday morning as they take on the Miami Hurricanes in doubles at 9:00 CT and the Utes in singles.
Doubles:
Ashleigh Antal/Marie Casares (Vanderbilt) def. Sarah Richter/Luisa Gerstner Da Ro (Utah) 6-2
Frances Altick/Astra Sharma (Vanderbilt) def. Tereza Bekerova/Margo Pletcher (Utah) 6-3
Georgina Sellyn/Sydney Campbell (Vanderbilt) def. Elena Najera-Salas/Jena Chang (Utah) 6-3
Singles:
Sydney Campbell (Vanderbilt) def. Breaunna Addison (Texas) 6-3, 6-1
Marie Casares (Vanderbilt) def. Ryann Foster (Texas) 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
Frances Altick (Vanderbilt) def. Pippa Horn (Texas) 6-2, 6-4
Astra Sharma (Vanderbilt) def. Danielle Wagland (Texas) 6-2, 6-1
Neda Koprcina (Texas) def. Ellie Yates (Vanderbilt) 6-2, 6-4
Ashleigh Antal (Vanderbilt) def. Lana Groenvynck (Texas) 7-6, 6-1
Georgina Sellyn (Vanderbilt) def. Annat Rabinovich (Texas) 6-2, 6-1
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
Doubles (Beginning at 9:00 a.m.): Miami vs. Vanderbilt (Courts 1-4) and Texas vs. Utah (Courts 5-8)
Singles: Miami vs. Texas (Courts 1-4) and Utah vs. Vanderbilt (Courts 5-8)
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
Doubles (Beginning at 8:00 a.m.): Miami vs. Utah (Courts 1-4) and Texas vs. Vanderbilt (Courts 5-8)
Singles: Miami vs. Vanderbilt (Courts 1-4) and Texas vs. Utah (Courts 5-8)
