OXFORD, Miss. – The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team fell behind 1-0 after the doubles point and that proved to be costly for the Commodores as they fell, 4-3 in a tightly contested match to No. 38 Ole Miss in what was both teams SEC opener. The ‘Dores played the match without top-rated singles player Jackie Wu.
With the loss, Vanderbilt falls to 5-3 overall and 0-1 in the SEC while the win improves Ole Miss to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Rebels 4-3 decision against VU marked their first win against the Commodores since 1999.
Vanderbilt fell behind 1-0 after losing two of the three contested doubles matches. VU’s No. 2 pair of Erica Robertson and Catherine Newman recorded the team’s lone doubles win as they took down Mississippi’s pair of Connor Vogel and Gabby Rangel, 8-3. The Rebels would eventually clinch the doubles point when Kristi Boxx and Karen Nijssen came from a break down to defeat Vanderbilt’s duo of Rachael Dillon and Heather Steinbauer, 8-6.
Vanderbilt quickly tied the match up at 1-1 when senior Hannah Blatt registered a straight set win over Rangel (6-4, 6-0) at the No. 6 position. With the win on Friday, Blatt improves to 14-9 overall and 4-1 in dual play.
The Rebels (6-1) then won the next two matches to take a 3-1 lead over the Commodores as they posted wins at No. 5 and No. 3 singles.
Trailing 3-1 in the match, Vanderbilt got a much needed win from senior captain (Catherine Newman) to keep the ‘Dores alive. Newman notched an impressive straight set win over Ole Miss’ top-player Kristi Boxx at No. 1 singles to get VU within one point. Boxx came into the match as the nation’s 36th-ranked singles player. With the win on Friday, Newman continues to close in on a 100-career singles wins. The Greensboro, N.C., native now has 97 wins in her Vanderbilt career.
With Ole Miss holding a 3-2 lead, they eventually clinched the match against the Commodores when Abby Guthrie knocked off Keilly Ulery, 7-6(8), 6-0.
Vanderbilt’s Chelsea Preeg closed out the meet with a solid three set win over junior Karen Nijssen, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, to make the final score 4-3.
The 19th-ranked Commodores will play Mississippi State at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday in Starkville, Miss. Live stats of Sunday’s match will be available by .
No. 38 Ole Miss 4, No. 19 Vanderbilt 3
March 5, 2010
Doubles
1. Boxx/Nijssen (OM) def. Dillon/Steinbauer (VU) 8-6
2. Robertson/Newman (VU) def. Vogel/Rangel (OM) 8-3
3. Guthrie/van de Stroet (OM) def. Preeg/Blatt (VU) 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. No. 67 Catherine Newman (VU) def. No. 36 Kristi Boxx (OM) 6-3, 6-2
2. No. 85 Chelsea Preeg (VU) def. Karen Nijssen (OM) 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
3. Connor Vogel (OM) def. No. 107 Heather Steinbauer (VU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Abby Guthrie (OM) def. Keilly Ulery (VU) 7-6(8), 6-0
5. Laura van de Stroet (OM) def. Rachael Dillon (VU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Hannah Blatt (VU) def. Gabby Rangel (OM) 6-4, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 3, 1, 4, 2
