AUSTIN, Texas – The 15th-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team capped off a perfect weekend in the Lone Star State with a 4-3 win over No. 17 Texas, Sunday, at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center. Junior Marie Casares clinched the match for the `Dores winning 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 5 singles in a match that lasted nearly three hours.
The Commodores close out their eight-match road swing with a 5-3 record. Vandy returns to Nashville after having played eight top 20 teams on the road or at a neutral site.
Vandy started the afternoon winning a tough doubles point over the Longhorns. Casares and Courtney Colton took the first doubles match, 8-3, over UT’s Begley and Horn. Georgina Sellyn and Frances Altick were able to clinch the point with a hard fought 9-7 win at No. 3.
The Commodores saw their early 1-0 lead disappear as the Longhorns won three straight singles matches to go up 3-1.
Texas knocked off No. 48 Georgina Sellyn at one, Ashleigh Antal at six and Lauren Mira at two.
The `Dores got back some momentum when No. 124 Colton won easily at No. 4 over Lina Padegimaite. Colton breezed to a 6-0, 6-3 win, to cut the Texas lead to 3-2.
After winning her first set convincingly, Altick had to fight in the second set to avoid going to a third. She hung on for a 6-1, 7-5 win to set up a clinching situation for Casares at No. 5.
Casares won a long first set 7-5 before dropping her second 3-6 to UT’s Pippa Horn. In the third set Casares jumped out to the early lead, earning a break on Horn’s first serve. From there on it was smooth sailing, as the Vandy junior never allowed Horn to break back, eventually breaking Horn’s serve to take the match 6-2 in the third.
Casares improves to 6-0 in dual play and has won 10-straight matches.
Vanderbilt will now look ahead to four-straight matches at the Currey Tennis Center, beginning Friday with a match against No. 31 Memphis. The Commodores will then be back in action on Sunday for a match with No. 39 Pepperdine.
#15 Vanderbilt 4, #17 Texas 3
Singles
1. No. 24 Breaunna Addison (UT) def. No. 48 Georgina Sellyn (VU) 6-0, 6-1
2. Elizabeth Begley (UT) def. Lauren Mira (VU) 6-2, 6-0
3. Frances Altick (VU) def. Neda Koprcina (UT) 6-1, 7-5
4. No. 124 Courtney Colton (VU) def. Lina Padegimaite (UT) 6-0, 6-3
5. Marie Casares (VU) def. Pippa Horn (UT) 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
6. Lana Groenvynck (UT) def. Ashleigh Antal (VU) 6-4, 6-0
Order of finish: 1, 6, 2, 4, 3, 5*
Doubles
1. Breaunna Addison/Neda Koprcina (UT) def. Ashleigh Antal/Lauren Mira (VU) 9-8 (5)
2. Marie Casares/Courtney Colton (VU) def. Elizabeth Begley/Pippa Horn (UT) 8-3
3. Georgina Sellyn/Frances Altick (VU) def. Lina Padegimaite/Ratnika Batra (UT) 9-7
Order of finish: 2, 3*, 1
* – clinching point
