NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt women’s tennis took down SEC rival and 31st-ranked Florida on Sunday at the Vanderbilt Currey Tennis Center, clinching a 4-3 match over the Gators.
“Today’s win over Florida was a quality SEC win. It’s an incredible rivalry and Florida is a great team,” said head coach Geoff Macdonald. “We have three doubles teams and six singles, and our goal each match is for all nine positions to show up and compete and we did that today.”
Kicking off doubles play, Commodore pair Emma Kurtz and Emily Smith secured the first doubles victory for the Dores. The duo held Florida’s Victoria Emma and McCartney Kessler to one game, earning a 6-1 victory on Court 1.
Vanderbilt’s Fernanda Contreras and Summer Dvorak, the 31st-ranked duo in the country, took down Gator team Tsveta Dimitrova and Ida Jarlskog on Court 3, 6-3, to clinch the doubles point for the Dores.
Entering singles play with a 1-0 lead over the Gators, freshman Georgia Drummy swiftly advanced the Dores’ lead to 2-0 with a straight-set win over Florida’s Victoria Emma, 6-0, 6-3.
Fellow freshman Carolyn Campana followed Drummy by securing the Dores’ third point, defeating Florida’s Tsveta Dimitrova, 6-2, in a straight-set victory.
But Florida still mounted a comeback with wins on Courts 1, 2 and 4 to tie the match, 3-3. The match came down to No. 97 Smith on Court 6, and the senior commanded an early lead in dominating Florida’s Sydney Berlin, 6-3, in the first set.
Smith carried that momentum into the second set, ultimately clinching the match for the Commodores with a 6-3 win.
“With the match going down to 3-all her court, Emily handled the high-pressure situation with class and did an excellent job to clinch the match,” said Macdonald.
With today’s victory over Florida, the Commodores moved to 6-2 against SEC foes and 11-5 overall this season.
The Dores continue SEC play this Friday as they take on Kentucky in Lexington at 4 p.m. CT. Follow along with the Commodores as they prepare to face the Wildcats by following @VandyWTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
