EVANSTON, Ill. — The seventh-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team suffered its second loss of the season, as No. 24 Northwestern upset the Commodores, 4-2, inside the Comb Tennis Center.
Friday’s match began with challenging doubles competitions on all three courts. The Wildcats earned the first win of the day against Emily Smith and Emma Kurtz at the No. 2 doubles position. Northwestern’s No. 13 Alex Chatt and Lee Orr handed the Commodore duo a 6-2 loss. NU clinched the doubles point in a top-25 battle, as No. 23 Astra Sharma and Fernanda Contreras fell to Erin Larner and Maddie Lipp, the second-ranked team in the country, 6-3
Courts one through four were all battles between ranked singles players on Friday.
Sharma and Amanda Meyer gave VU the 2-1 advantage, which would be the squad’s lone lead of the match. Ranked 56th in the country, Sharma defeated No. 88 Orr in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. Meyer, a freshman out of Delray Beach, Fla., downed Inci Ogut 6-3, 6-4 to earn her fifth straight-set victory and remain undefeated on the season with a 6-0 record.
With first sets going to Northwestern on the remaining singles courts, the Wildcats closed out three of those matches to earn victories on courts four and six then two to finish off the upset. No. 85 Erin Larner upset fifth-ranked Contreras for the three-set clinch 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.
VU heads south to North Carolina on Sunday as the Dores take on top-ranked UNC at 12 p.m. CT.
#24 Northwestern 4, #7 Vanderbilt 2
1. #56 Astra Sharma (VANDY) def. #88 Lee Or (NU) 6-4, 6-2
2. #85 Erin Larner (NU) def. #5 Fernanda Contreras (VANDY) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
3. #65 Maddie Lipp (NU) vs. #24 Christina Rosca (VANDY) 7-6 (7-5), 4-5, unfinished
4. #120 Alex Chatt (NU) def. Emma Kurtz (VANDY) 6-3, 6-2
5. Amanda Meyer (VANDY) def. Inci Ogut (NU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Julie Byrne (NU) def. Summer Dvorak (VANDY) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
1. #2 Maddie Lipp/Erin Larner (NU) def. #23 Astra Sharma/Fernanda Contreras (VANDY) 6-3
2. #13 Alex Chatt/Lee Or (NU) def. Emily Smith/Emma Kurtz (VANDY) 6-2
3. Rheeya Doshi/Julie Byrne (NU) vs. Christina Rosca/Amanda Meyer (VANDY) 5-3, unfinished
Match Notes:
Vanderbilt 6-2; National ranking #7 Northwestern 6-3; National ranking #24
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,5,4,6,2) Official: John Coleman T-2:35 A-175
