April 6, 2007
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After getting behind early against fourth-ranked Florida, the No. 16 Vanderbilt women’s tennis team staged a comeback that fell just shy of a victory Friday afternoon in Nashville.
Vandy’s 4-3 loss to Florida marks the Commodores first dropped home contest in 2007.
The Commodores (14-7, 7-2) were down 3-0 after getting swept by the Gators (16-1, 7-1) in doubles and suffering losses at Nos. 5 and 6 singles.
The top of Vanderbilt’s lineup then turned up the heat amid the snow flurries and 45-degree weather on the Currey Tennis Center outdoor courts. No. 25 Amanda Fish never relinquished her lead over No. 18 Diana Srebrovic, and upset the Gator 6-1, 7-6 at No. 1.
VU’s No. 36 Amanda Taylor trailed No. 20 Megan Alexander throughout the first set, but fought back to take the win in a tiebreaker. Taylor kept up her momentum and shut Alexander down 6-1 in the second set for the second singles upset of the night.
The Gators still held a 3-2 lead as VU’s Taka Bertrand and UF’s Anastasia Revzina battled at No. 4. Bertrand held a one-game lead throughout most of the first set, but Revzina fired back to take a 7-5 win. Bertrand was unable to recover and fell 6-1 in the second set to clinch the Gator win.
VU’s #38 Catherine Newman added Vanderbilt’s final match point as she defeated #94 Nina Suvak 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 to improve her overall record to 15-5 and 8-1 in the SEC.
The loss is VU’s second consecutive 4-3 loss to an ITA Top Five team. The Commodores dropped Sunday’s match to then-fifth-ranked Georgia in Athens.
“We are so close,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Geoff Macdonald said following the match. “This is our second 4-3 loss to a top team. I’m so proud of the way we battled out there today. We just need to keep our spirits up.”
The Commodores will host their final regular season home match this Sunday against South Carolina at noon.
RESULTS
#4 Florida 4, #16 Vanderbilt 3
DOUBLES
1. Srebrovic/Borsanyi (UF) d. #18 Fish/Taylor (VU) 8-1
2. Suvak/Benik (UF) d. #51 Bertrand/Newman (VU) 8-5
3. Alexander/Revzina (UF) d. Ulery/Sveke (VU) 8-2
Order of finish: 3, 1*, 2
SINGLES
1. #25 Amanda Fish (VU) d. #18 Diana Srebrovic (UF) 6-1, 7-6
2. #36 Amanda Taylor (VU) d. #20 Megan Alexander (UF) 7-6, 6-1
3. #38 Catherine Newman (VU) d. #94 Nina Suvak (UF) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Anastasia Revzina (UF) d. #101 Taka Bertrand (VU) 7-5, 6-1
5. #68 Csilla Borsanyi (UF) d. Courtney Ulery (VU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Whitney Benik (UV) d. Caroline Ferrell (VU) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 5, 1, 2, 4*, 3
