NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt won five of the six singles matches after capturing the doubles point to earn the 6-1 win over No. 60 Mississippi State Friday at the outside courts of the Currey Tennis Center. The Commodores have now won three straight SEC dual matches and improve to 8-5 overall and 4-2 in SEC play.
Vanderbilt now leads the all-time series with Mississippi State 22-7, including winners of 19 straight over the Lady Bulldogs. VU head coach Geoff Macdonald is a perfect 16-0 against MSU as Vanderbilt’s head coach.
“I was pleased with the way our team competed today,” said head coach Geoff Macdonald. “Any time you can pick up a win in conference is big and we beat a good team today in Mississippi State.”
The 19th-ranked Commodores won the doubles point for the fourth straight match as VU picked up wins at the number two and three doubles position. Vanderbilt’s Courtney and Keilly Ulery improved to 8-1 in dual play with an 8-3 win over MSU’s Daniela Juskova and Radka Ferancova. VU’s pair of Catherine Newman and Chelsea Preeg clinched the doubles point for the ‘Dores notched their seventh win of the season with an 8-3 win over MSU’s Natalia Mayuk and Olesya Tsigvintseva.
VU regained the lead when Heather Steinbauer defeated Mayuk in straight sets for her 17th win of the season and ninth in dual play. Steinbauer is a perfect 6-0 in SEC play. The ‘Dores extended the lead when Courtney Ulery topped MSU’s Makarycheva in consecutive sets, 6-4, 6-2, pushing the overall match score to 3-1. Ulery was playing in her second to last home match of her career as she will graduate next month.
The Commodores clinched the match when Newman took down Tsigvintseva at number one singles, winning 6-0, 6-4 for her 17th win of the season and second straight over an SEC opponent.
VU’s Preeg and Wu closed out the meet for the Commodores, posting straight set single wins of their own, making the final score 6-1.
At the conclusion of the match the Commodore teammates along with fans and other support staff gathered to celebrate senior day for the senior from Wellington, Fla. Ulery received a framed picture along with flowers for her career contributions.
“Courtney has had a great career at Vanderbilt and it was a special day to honor her for all of her accomplishments and efforts that she has given our program,” Macdonald said. “She has been successful on the court and in the classroom while bringing a great deal of pride to our program.”
The Commodores will host its final regular season home match Sunday as it plays host to No. 27 Ole Miss at noon at the Currey Tennis Center. Ole Miss rallied from losing a tight doubles point to take down No. 20 Kentucky, 5-2 in Lexington Friday. The Rebels come to Nashville with a 10-6 overall mark and are 3-4 in the SEC.
Live stats of Sunday’s dual between the Rebels and Commodores will be available via vucommodores.com or by clicking here.
No. 19 Vanderbilt 6, No. 60 Mississippi State 1
Singles Results
1. No. 62 Catherine Newman (VU) def. Olesya Tsigvintseva (MSU) 6-0, 6-4
2. No. 57 Jackie Wu (VU) def. Martina Banikova (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
3. Radka Ferancova (MSU) def. Keilly Ulery (VU) 6-0, 1-0 ret.
4. Chelsea Preeg (VU) def. Elna de Villiers (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Heather Steinbauer (VU) def. Natalia Mayuk (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Courtney Ulery (VU) def. Valeriya Makarycheva (MSU) 6-4, 6-2
Hannah Blatt (VU) def. Elizabeth Hall (MSU) 6-0, 6-2
order of finish: 3, 5, 6, 1*, 2, 4
Doubles Results
1. Banikova / de Villiers (MSU) def. No. 49 Steinbauer / Wu (VU) 8-5
2. Newman / Preeg (VU) def. Mayuk / Tsigvintseva (MSU) 8-3
3. Ulery, C. / Ulery, K. (VU) def. Ferancova / Juskova (MSU) 8-3 order of finish: 2, 3, 1
