KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team’s 4-3 win against Tennessee on Friday afternoon marked the first time since 1987 the Commodores have defeated the Volunteers in Knoxville.
The Commodores (14-5, 7-0) started the contests with a smooth doubles point win, holding the Vols (8-8, 4-3) at no more than 5 games per pro set.
Commodores Amanda Taylor and Taka Bertrand earned straight set wins at Nos. 2 and 4, respectively, to put the Commodores up 3-0.
Vandy sophomores Courtney Ulery and Liberty Sveke each dropped contests, but Assistant Coach Meike Babel explained that their fight helped give Amanda Fish a chance to clinch the win at the top of the lineup.
“Courtney and Liberty lost, but by staying out there and fighting for it, Amanda was able to play her match without all the pressure of clinching the win. Their performance helped Amanda out big time,” Babel said.
Amanda Fish put the Commodores up 4-2 to seal the victory in straight sets. The win was her fourth at No. 1 in SEC contests.
“Amanda played extremely solid tennis at No. 1 against a competitor who has defeated her in the past,” Babel said. “This is the first time since she’s been back from her injury that I’ve thought, `this is the Amanda we know.’ She’s fully recovered.”
Amanda Fish was sidelined throughout the first matches of the season with a nagging ankle injury.
The Commodores will need to continue the momentum from the Volunteer defeat into Sunday’s contest against No. 5 Georgia. Georgia recently defeated then-No. 1 Florida 4-3 in Athens.
The Commodores earned two victories over the Bulldogs during 2007: the first during the regular season (5-2) and the second during the second round of the NCAA tournament (4-3).
The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in Athens. Before the contest the Bulldogs will recognize Natalie Frazier and Darya Ivanov as part of UGA’s Senior Day.
SINGLES RESULTS
1. No. 32 Amanda Fish (VU) def. No. 31 Blakeley Griffith (UT) – 6-2, 6-3
2. No. 33 Amanda Taylor (VU) def. Connor Vogel (UT) – 6-4, 6-3
3. Caitlin Whoriskey (UT) def. No. 34 Catherine Newman (VU) – 6-4, 7-5
4. No. 104 Taka Bertrand (VU) def. Samantha Orlin (UT) – 7-6, 6-2
5. Victoria Jones (UT) def. Courtney Ulery (VU) – 7-6, 6-2
6. Zsofia Zubor (UT) def. Liberty Sveke (VU) – 7-5, 7-5
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. No. 26 Fish/Taylor (VU) def. Whoriskey/Zubor (UT) – 8-4
2. Bertrand/Newman (VU) def. Griffith/Orlin (UT) – 8-3
3. Sveke/Ulery (VU) def. Jones/Vogel (UT) – 8-5
