June 8, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt women’s tennis student-athletes Sydney Campbell, Astra Sharma and Emily Smith were honored as 2017 ITA All-Americans on Thursday, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Earning seeds in the NCAA Singles and Doubles tournaments, the three Commodores were deemed automatic All-Americans at the release of the draw in mid-May.
Campbell is the first Commodore in history to earn singles All-America honors in three separate seasons (2015, 2016, 2017), all coming in singles. The Franklin, Tenn. native is also Vanderbilt’s premier NCAA singles semifinalist. The recent Vanderbilt graduate departs VU with a 108-50-career record and 34 wins this season, the latter of which sits second-best in Commodore history. Campbell was named the Southeastern Conference tournament MVP and clinched Vandy’s first SEC regular season crown.
Earning singles and doubles All-American honors, Sharma is the first Commodore since Sarah Riske in 2003 to claim both prestigious awards in one season. The Perth, Australia native was a semifinalist in both of the ITA’s national championships, the Riviera ITA Championships and National Indoors. The 2017 SEC Player of the Year finished the season tying a career-high ranking of No. 2 in the final ITA rankings and was 32-8 overall — including 24-6 versus ranked opponents — and boasts a 93-27-career record.
Smith, a rising junior, joined Sharma in earning All-America doubles honors. Smith is the 13th Vanderbilt All-American, and she teamed with Sharma to earn one All-America status as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA doubles tournament, the first Vandy pairing to achieve the feat. The duo earned a career-high ranking of No. 1 in the nation and boasted a 7-2 SEC record.
Sharma and Smith look to continue the careers with the black and gold next season, while Campbell will cheer from the bleachers as the graduate plans to remain in Nashville.
