GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Vanderbilt Commodores lost their first conference match to No. 2 Florida in Gainesville Friday afternoon in a 6-1 decision against a team with five top-50 ranked individuals.
Falling behind early, the Commodores dropped the doubles point, though Marie Casares and Nelly Radeva rallied for a 9-8 (7-3) win on court three to prevent the sweep.
Freshman Casares came back after losing her first set 6-2 to win 7-5 and force a 10-7 tiebreaker decision for the win on court four. It was the Commodores’ lone win on the day in singles.
It was the 100th consecutive home win for the Gators.
The women travel to Columbia, S.C. for the second match of their weekend. Sunday’s match against the No. 38 Gamecocks starts at noon.
Results:
Singles:
1. #23 Lauren Embree (UF) def. #29 Jackie Wu (VU) 6-3, 6-2
2. #1 Allie Will (UF) def. #98 Lauren Mira (VU) 6-2, 6-3
3. #18 Joanna Mather (UF) def. Alex Leatu (VU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Marie Casares (VU) def. #49 Alexandra Cercone (UF) 2-6, 7-5, 10-7
5. #39 Sofie Oyen (UF) def. Ashleigh Antal (VU) 6-0, 7-5*
6. Caroline Hitimana (UF) def. Nelly Radeva (VU) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles:
1. #13 Oyen-Will (UF) def. Antal-Mira (VU) 9-8 (7-5)
2. #31 Embree-Mather (UF) def. #50 Leatu-Wu (VU) 8-2
3. Casares-Radeva (VU) def. Cercone-Janowicz (UF) 9-8 (7-3)
Match Notes:
#22 Vanderbilt 10-5 (2-1 SEC)
#2 Florida 9-1 (3-0 SEC)
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3) Singles (6,3,5,1,2,4)
