NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The second-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team earned a statement win for the program Saturday afternoon, sweeping No. 1 Stanford by a score of 7-0.
It was standing room only inside the Currey Tennis Center, as the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams duked it out for the fourth time since 2015.
Utilizing the same doubles lineup as Friday’s win over No. 16 Baylor, the Commodores secured a dominant doubles point. Amanda Meyer and Christina Rosca earned the first win on the day as the duo cruised past Stanford’s Janice Shin and Emma Higuchi on court three, 6-1.
In a match riddled with deuce point after deuce point, Astra Sharma and Fernanda Contreras clinched the competitive doubles point over the Cardinal’s third-ranked Michaela Gordon and Emily Arbuthnott, 6-3. No. 43 Emily Smith and Emma Kurtz were tied with Stanford, 5-all, at the conclusion of doubles.
Sharma and Contreras upset No. 4 Gordon/Arbuthnott; 6-3! #FIGHTDORES pic.twitter.com/okzD7luIpy
— Vandy Women’s Tennis (@Vandywtennis) February 3, 2018
Not allowing themselves to succumb to the excitement of the doubles point victory, VU came out in singles play level-headed and ready to continue with what were sure to be competitive singles matches.
That level-headed paid off early as Vandy acquired four of the six first sets against Stanford, with the Dores’ two first set losses propelling those student-athletes to win their second sets and force a third.
“I think this win is a clear indication of how much this team has evolved throughout the time I’ve been here,” said redshirt senior Astra Sharma. “The way we’re preparing is different. Before in those tough 4-3 matches against these historic tennis teams, we never believed we could win. Now there’s this confidence in this program that we deserve to be here and we deserve to be winning these types of matches.”
The Commodores second team point came on court two, as No. 4 Fernanda Contreras flew through her first set against No. 22 Arbuthnott, 6-1. The junior pulled away late in a tight second set to give VU the 2-0 advantage, 6-1, 6-4.
After falling in her first set, 6-3, to No. 69 Caroline Lampl, 19th-ranked Christina Rosca only allowed the Stanford junior two additional games, which came in the last three games of the victory, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.
Commodores up 3-0 and searching for their final point. Chris downs Lampl; 3-6, 6-0, 6-2! #FIGHTDORES pic.twitter.com/ZAXcOV4t2p
— Vandy Women’s Tennis (@Vandywtennis) February 3, 2018
For the third match in a row, Astra Sharma clinched the Commodores’ victory. Finding herself in a first set hole against No. 13 Gordon, Sharma flipped the switch throughout the second set to change momentum. Tied at 3-all in the third set, Sharma took the next three games to seal Vanderbilt’s victory over the Cardinal, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Sharma with the CLINCH! Roo defeats Gordon; 3-6, 6-3, 6-3! #FIGHTDORES
No. 2 VU 4, No. 1 Stanford, 0 pic.twitter.com/VTybAJxkEv
— Vandy Women’s Tennis (@Vandywtennis) February 3, 2018
To gain match experience, both teams chose to play out the remainder of Saturday’s matches.
Emma Kurtz put up an amazing fight on court four against Higuchi. The Junior out of Atlanta came back from 4-1 deficits in each set to take the victory and give VU a 5-0 advantage, 7-6(3), 7-5.
Summer Dvorak powered through her first set on court five against Shin. Ranked 96th in the country, Dvorak earned the 5-4 advantage in the second set but gave up two match points to allow Shin the opportunity for the second set. The Cardinal took three games in a row to force a third set. But Dvorak rallied back in the third set to force a match-deciding tiebreaker, which the she won to remain undefeated on the season, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4).
Up 6-0 against the No. 1 team in the nation, all eyes turned to Amanda Meyer as the freshman faced Kimberly Yee in the final match of the day. Meyer rebounded from a 4-3 deficit and forced a first set tiebreaker. With her whole team cheering her on, the Delray Beach, Fla. native came out on top of the breaker, 7-6 (6). Following one more match-deciding breaker, Meyer solidified the Dores sweep over Stanford, 7-6(6), 7-6(5).
The Commodores hope to use Saturday’s momentum throughout the week as the team prepares to attend National Team Indoors. The ITA’s annual tournament takes place next weekend in Madison, Wisc.
“Today’s score was not reflective of the battle,” Sharma continued. “Yes we won every match, but my match could have gone the other way for example. We have a great respect for Stanford. We still recognize the threat that Stanford could cause us later down the road. But this gives us a great confidence that yes, we can do this.”
