NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the third time in a row the No. 12 Vanderbilt Commodores are bound for the ITA National Indoors after defeating Texas Sunday afternoon; 5-0.
“I thought we handled the chaos of the beginning of the match, with the Harvard/DePaul match still going on, really well,” said head coach Geoff Macdonald. “Both teams didn’t get a great warm-up, we just hit a little. But I think that’s a really good Texas team, and we competed and came up with some extraordinary shots on big points. In doubles, Sydney [Campbell] and Courtney [Colton] got a really good win. Sydney’s win over Breaunna Addison, a two-time All-American, she beat her 6-2, 6-2, that was great. There was a very high level of play. Today was a team effort, they all did great.”
The Commodores claimed the doubles point over the Longhorns with wins from the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles teams.
The energetic team of Frances Altick and Astra Sharma brought home the first Vandy win as they defeated the Longhorns’ Ratnika Batra and Neda Koprcina in a 6-2 victory.
Vanderbilt’s No. 32 doubles duo of Courtney Colton and Sydney Campbell captured the doubles point for the `Dores in a 6-3 win over Breaunna Addison and Ryann Foster.
Stemming from the loud crowed that packed the indoor courts of the Currey Tennis Center, the entire Commodore lineup came into singles play with palpable high energy.
“Thank you to everyone who came out. If you come and watch this team, most people come away impressed with the level of play. It’s just an extraordinary group of young women. They’re great students, they work very hard, they’re good people, and I’m proud to coach them. I wish people would spread the world, because they deserve great crowds like today’s. They’re a heck of a team.”
Sophomore Astra Sharma started her singles match against Danielle Wagland on a 5-0 win steak, however Wagland came back with resilience, creeping up to make the score 5-4. Sharma pulled out a first set win, 6-4.
Sharma’s second set was a completely different story, as she unloaded six perfect sets with no rebuttal. Sharma, a native from Perth, Australia, has had a great start to the season after missing a good portion of her freshman campaign due to an injury.
“It’s such a relief to be back out of the court,” said Sharma. “You can get really desperate not playing for the whole year since tennis and competing is something I love doing. Just being able to represent Vanderbilt again is really cool.”
The Commodores success continued after the win on court five, as Vanderbilt earned three additional singles wins in the span of two minutes.
No. 15 Sydney Campbell finished second, as she defeated No. 84 Breaunna Addison in an easy 6-2, 6-2 match. Senior Marie Casares was quick to finish her first set against Koprcina, 6-1. The Quito, Equador native earned the fourth match point for the `Dores taking the second set, 6-4.
The last win of the evening came from Frances Altick, earning the fifth and final point of the match. Altick defeated Ratnika Batra on court three; 6-3, 6-2.
The Commodores head back out on their home courts Saturday, Jan. 31st as they take on the Memphis Tigers at 12 p.m.. Vandy will head to Charlottesville, Va. to compete in the ITA National Indoors on Feb. 5th.
Vanderbilt 5, Texas 0
Doubles
Finishes: 3, 1
1) Sydney Campbell/Courtney Colton (Vandy) def. Breaunna Addison/Ryann Foster (Texas); 6-3
2) Marie Casares /Ashleigh Antal (Vandy) vs. Pippa Horn/Danielle Wagland (Texas); 5-4 unf.
3) Frances Altick/Astra Sharma (Vandy) def. Ratnika Batra/Neda Koprcina (Texas); 6-2
Singles
Finishes: 5, 1, 4, 3,
1) Sydney Campbell (Vandy) def. Breaunna Addison (Texas); 6-2, 6-2
2) Courtney Colton (Vandy) vs. Ryann Foster (Texas); 7-6 (5), 1-0, unf.
3) Frances Altick (Vandy) def. Ratnika Batra (Texas); 6-3, 6-2
4) Marie Casares (Vandy) def. Neda Koprcina (Texas); 6-1, 6-4
5) Astra Sharma (Vandy) def. Danielle Wagland (Texas); 6-4, 6-0
6) Georgina Sellyn (Vandy) vs. Pippa Horn (Texas); 2-1, unf.
