NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The ninth-ranked Vanderbilt women’s team clinched their fifth-straight National Team Indoors appearance following a 4-0 victory over Kansas in the ITA Kickoff Weekend finale.
The Commodores won the doubles point and went on a three-match singles tear to lock up the sweep. While the match reflects a sweep the squad powered through close second sets and forced three third sets.
“First of all I salute Kansas,” said head coach Geoff Macdonald. “They were well coached and played with a lot of desire and spirit. That was a much closer match then 4-0. I think we would have won the three matches that were still out there, but I give them a lot of credit. The improvement as a program is one of the most noticeable in the country.”
For the second consecutive match, Vandy clinched the paramount doubles point with victories on courts three then two. While Fernanda Contreras and Emily Smith cruised to a 6-1 win over Tatiana Nikolaeva and Maria Toran Ribes on three, Astra Sharma and Emma Kurtz fought hard to break serve at 6-5 and serve for the point. The VU duo held serve for the 7-5 victory on court two.
Following her 6-2 loss at No. 1 doubles, No. 19 Sydney Campbell was motivated to earn her first singles victory of the dual season. The senior served up a dominant performance on court two in front of a packed house, defeating the Jayhawks’ Janet Koch 6-2, 6-2.
Emma Kurtz continued to play dominate tennis for the black and gold earning the ‘Dores their third point of the match. The freshman from Atlanta flew through her first set 6-1, but KU’s Toran Ribes climbed back into the competition and forced a second set tiebreaker. Kurtz denied the Jayhawk a third set, taking the match on court five, 6-1, 7-6(5).
It was a race inside the Currey Tennis Center to see who would clinch the final fourth point for VU as both Christina Rosca and Georgina Sellyn were up 5-1 and 5-2 on their opponents. With Sellyn on match point, Rosca delivered the final blow to send VU to National Indoors, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
“Coach told us today was going to be a hard match,” said Rosca. “There really aren’t any easy matches at this level, but I’m excited to get the clinch for National Indoors. I know Georgie (Sellyn) was on match point so she’s a little upset about that (laughing), but it’s pretty exciting. I’m enjoying the challenge of playing at No. 3 and I worked really hard over the fall. I feel like I’ve definitely gotten better due to the training and the amazing coaches, but the cheering of college matches helps me. With everyone watching helps me regain focus and pull through tough points.”
National Team Indoors is set to begin on Feb. 10 and is hosted this season by the Yale Bulldogs. The Commodores are one of 16 teams to compete in the prestigious event.
“Every team that goes to National Indoors is really good and really tough,” said Sellyn, a redshirt-senior. “Traditionally we haven’t done our best in the tournament so one of our goals that we made earlier this season was to go back and improve on how we’ve done over the past few years. Everyone plays really aggressive at National Indoors because there’s a lot on the line, so we just need to come out strong. It’s a great opportunity for us and I’m looking forward to it.”
