GREENVILLE, S.C. — Three more Commodores earned wins for the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team Sunday at the Debbie Southern Furman Fall Classic. In the three-day event, the Commodores combined for 16 match victories.
“Overall, we saw some really good things this weekend,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “We improved on our doubles on day two and picked up some quality wins with mostly new pairings. The competition here is awesome and our kids fought well in singles. We lost some close sets and didn’t quite get through the finish line in some three-setters, but we will learn a lot from those kinds of matches this early in the year.”
Dasha Kourkina, Marcella Cruz and MaryAnn Rompf all earned wins for the Dores on the final day of competition. All three won in straight sets while Kourkina and Rompf won for the second straight day to win the consolation final in their respective flights.
“MaryAnn lost a tough three-setter at the end of a long first day and bounced back with two great matches to close out the tourney—her spirit and commitment all weekend were fantastic,” Tsoubanos said. “Dasha played some great tennis, too. Similarly, she lost a heartbreaker on Friday and responded with two straight set wins and is hitting the ball really well.”
Kourkina defeated Clemson’s Sopia Hatton 6-2, 6-4 while Rompf beat Tennessee’s Olivia Symons 6-3, 6-3.
Cruz won over Callie Creath of Tennessee, 6-3, 6-4.
Sophomore Aneesa Lee reached the finals of her flight with a pair of victories. She then won the first set in a tiebreaker, but dropped a hard-fought three-set match against Duke’s Emma Jackson 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4.
“I was super impressed with Anessa’s performance over the weekend,” Tsoubanos added. “She is getting better by the match and nearly came through today in her final, and I just love the way she competes.”
When Vanderbilt returns to action the Commodores will host their annual June Stewart Invitational on Oct. 8-10 at the Currey Tennis Center.
“The team is relatively young, but they are committed to getting better and I saw a lot of great things we can build on this fall,” Tsoubanos said. “We’re excited to get back to work.”
Fans can follow Vanderbilt women’s tennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @VandyWTennis.
Vanderbilt Results
Round 1 – Singles
Lee def. Eleni Louka (CU) — 6-1, 6-0
Ava Hrastar (GT) def. Long — 6-4, 6-3
Carol Lee (GT) def. Staff — 6-1, 7-5
Fernanda Labrana (Texas) def. Ross — 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
Brooke Killingsworth (WF) def. Kourkina — 6-4, 7-6
Carson Tanguilig (UNC) def. Cruz — 6-1, 6-2
Samantha Buyckx (CU) def. Stevens — 6-2, 6-3
Ali Despain (CU) def. Rompf — 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Round 1 – Doubles
Staff/Cruz def. Campana/Campana (Wake) — 6-3
Chen/Omirou (Duke) def. Rompf/Ross — 6-1
Thomas/Labrana (Texas) def. Lee/Long — 6-3
Stevens/Kourkina def. Gross/Sassoli (GT) — 6-3
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Singles Semifinals – Winners Bracket
Lee def. Malaika Rapolu (Texas) — 6-2, 6-3
Singles Finals – Winners Bracket
Emma Jackson (Duke) def. Lee — 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4
Singles – Consolation Bracket
Staff def. Esther Adeshina (Tenn) — 6-3, 7-6 (2)
Casie Wooden (Wake) def. Staff — 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Kourkina def. Ana Cruz (USC) — 6-1, 6-4
Kourkina def. Sopia Hatton (CU), 6-2, 6-4
Magda Adaloglou (MSU) def. Long — 6-4, 6-2
Alle Sanford (UNC) def. Long — 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
Allie Gretkowski (USC) def. Ross — 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
Ross def. Tamara Racine (MSU) — 2-0
Elise Mills (USC) def. Cruz — 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
Cruz def. Callie Creath (Tenn) — 6-3, 6-4
Rompf def. Rosie Carcia Gross (GT) — 6-1, 7-6
Rompf def. Olivia Symons (Tenn) — 6-3, 6-3
Stevens def. Baykan (Furman) — 8-1
Saby Nihalani (Wake) def. Stevens — 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Semifinals – Winners Bracket
Kortikere/Cusano (Texas) def. Stevens/Kourkina — 6-1
Stevens/Kourkina def. Couch/Mills (USC) — 6-1
Drummy/Jackson (Duke) def. Staff/Cruz — 6-3
Staff/Cruz def. Rapolu/Zamarripa (Texas) — 6-3
Doubles Semifinals – Consolation
Adeshina/Kuczer (Tenn) def. Ross/Rompf — 6-3
Ross/Rompf def. Akli/ Hamner (USC) — 7-5
Lee/Long def. Duckworth/Molinaro (Tenn) — 6-2
Lee/Long def. Narboni/Tulenko (USC) — 7-5
