KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 7 Vanderbilt women’s tennis outplayed in-state rival and No. 18 Tennessee, 4-2, on Friday at the Goodfriend Tennis Center.
Commodore pair Georgia Drummy and Fernanda Contreras earned a dominant start in doubles for the Dores, taking down Vol duo Tenika McGiffin and Maia Haumuller, 6-2.
The Dores fell short on the remaining two courts to give up a 1-0 lead to Tennessee.
Determined to make a comeback in singles, No. 68 Drummy took the first set on court 1 over No. 72 Sadie Hammond, 6-1. The freshman remained confident and outlasted Hammond, 6-2, in the second set to tie the match, 1-1.
Seventh-ranked Contreras quickly took the lead on court 2 over Tennessee’s Kaitlin Staines, taking down the Vols, 6-4, in the first set. In the second set, Contreras dominated the court and held Staines to one game to put the Commodores in the lead, 2-1.
Freshman Carolyn Campana battled to make a comeback on court 4 but fell short to Tennessee’s Rebeka Mertena to once again tie the match, 2-2.
No. 17 Christina Rosca controlled court 3, taking an early lead in the first set to go up 6-4 over Vol Johanna Silva. Outshining Silva in the second set, Rosca went up 6-3 to push the Commodores into the lead over the Vols, 3-2.
Picking up her third consecutive clinch for the Commodores, senior Emily Smith attained a huge win straight-set win on the final court. Smith held Tennessee’s McGiffin to four games in the first set, clinching the match for the Dores in the second set tiebreaker, 7-6 (1).
“It’s really cool clinching three matches in a row. It gives me so much confidence moving into the end of the season that I can be clutch whit it counts and battle through the nerves to step up and tough it out to get the win,” said Smith.
“The UT match is always fun. Both teams always get really up for it so coming out on the winning end and being the one to put the final nail in the coffin and see my teammates running towards me was awesome,” said Smith.
The Commodores look to conclude their final regular season weekend undefeated as they face second-ranked Georgia on Sunday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Keep up with the Dores in Athens as they compte in their final regular season match by following @VandyWTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
