May 10, 2018
NCAA Draw | Live Stats | Live Stream
The top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team continues postseason action this weekend at home, hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for its fifth consecutive season.
Making their 24th tournament appearance, the top-ranked Commodores (22-3) will host Ohio State (2), Clemson (3), and Alabama State (4) in the first and second rounds. VU takes on Alabama State Friday at 2 p.m., following OSU and CU’s 11 a.m. contest.
Winners of the 2015 NCAA Championship, the Commodores have made semifinal appearances in their last two tournament trips. The winner of this weekend’s Nashville regional will travel to the Round of 16 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Wake Forest hosts the remainder of the National Championship rounds from May 17-22.
Following the conclusion of the team tournament, three Commodores will compete in the NCAA individual tournament. Fernanda Contreras, Christina Rosca and Astra Sharma will represent VU in the NCAA singles draw, while Contreras and Sharma will make their NCAA doubles tournament debut as a duo. Sharma has competed in both the singles and doubles tournament, going all the way to the NCAA doubles quarterfinals alongside Ashleigh Antal in 2015.
The NCAA requires that venues charge for access to any of its championship events. The minimum ticket price shall be $5 for general admission and $3 for students with ID card (per day) at all first- and second- round and finals sites. Children age two and under will be admitted at no charge.
For updates and a behind-the-scenes look at the program, follow @VandyWTennis on Twitter.
Commodore Notables:
- VU enters the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history
- Vandy begins its 24th tournament appearance Friday against Alabama State
- The Commodores are ranked No. 2 in the country, behind UNC who the squad defeated 4-3
- Vanderbilt owns a 22-3 record, going 12-1 in Southeastern Conference play
- VU’s three losses came against Pepperdine, Northwestern and Mississippi State
- VU boasts three ranked singles players: No 10 Contreras, No. 11 Sharma, No. 44 Rosca
- Three ranked doubles teams: Contreras/Sharma (11), Emma Kurtz/Rosca (25) and Kurtz/ Emily Smith (69)
- Vanderbilt is 53-22 all-time in NCAA Tournament play
- Commodores are reigning two-time SEC regular season and tournament champions
- Head coach Geoff Macdonald was voted the league’s Coach of the Year
Scouting State:
- Alabama State (12-8) is making its second consecutive trip to the NCAA’s first round, falling to Georgia Tech last season, 4-0
- Two-time defending Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champion
- The Hornets have won eight of their last 10 matches heading in postseason play
- Hornets earned the automatic bid from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), taking regular season and championship titles
