KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After falling behind 3-1 in a dual meet for the first time all year, Vanderbilt’s women’s tennis team battled back to tie things up at three before Tennessee’s Zsofia Zubor topped VU’s Heather Steinbauer in the final match of the day, giving UT a 4-3 victory in the championship match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Vanderbilt and Tennessee split the six singles matches (3-3) but the Lady Vols won the doubles point.
With the loss, No. 21 Vanderbilt falls to 3-1 on the season while 11th-ranked Tennessee remains undefeated at 4-0. Despite the tough loss to its intra-state rival, it what was a successful weekend for the Commodores in Knoxville.
“Our team played their hearts out today and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” head coach Geoff Macdonald said. “They played almost 11 hours worth of tough tennis in only two days and while the outcome wasn’t what we wanted, I’m again, extremely proud of their effort. Tennessee is a well-coached group. We’ve seen them multiple times already this year and look forward to the rematch with them on our home courts.”
The Commodores fell behind 1-0 after UT took the doubles point with wins at the number one and number three doubles. The sophomore tandem of Erica Robertson and Steinbauer were faced with their most difficult test of the season on Saturday as they went up against the nation’s No. 1 team in Caitlin Whoriskey and Natalie Pluskota. The 2009 ITA All-American doubles champions were tough to handle on Saturday as Robertson and Steinbauer fell 8-2.
UT eventually clinched the doubles point when Jennifer Meredith and Maria Sorbello knocked off VU’s team of Keilly Ulery and Catherine Newman in the No. 3 position. VU’s 40th-ranked pair of Jackie Wu and Chelsea Preeg held a 7-4 lead over Rosalia Alda and Zubor in the No. 2 position when the UT clinched the doubles point.
The ‘Dores quickly tied the match up at 1-1 when Preeg defeated Pluskota by default at the No. 3 singles position. Preeg won the first set 6-4 before the match was called in the second due to injury.
Tennessee than put Vanderbilt on its heels when they registered two consecutive wins at the No. 4 and No. 2 positions. With VU trailing 3-1, the Commodores got a huge momentum swing when No. 29 Jackie Wu upset sixth-ranked Whoriskey in straight sets. With the win, Wu improves to 16-4 on the season and has now won 10 of her last 11 matches. The straight-set win over No. 6 Whoriskey is also Wu’s first win over a top-10 opponent in her career and is the highest ranked player she has defeated since she knocked off 11th-ranked Georgia Rose of Northwestern on Sept. 28, 2008.
Trailing 3-2 in the match, Vanderbilt’s Hannah Blatt posted her second straight win at the No. 6 position in as many days with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over UT’s Katie Lee and tying the match at 3-3.
With the match tied three for the second straight day, VU’s Steinbauer was once again the last Commodore standing. After dropping the first set, 2-6 to Zubor, Steinbauer found herself down again 2-5 in the second before, pulling out a miraculous comeback, winning the last five games of the set to force a third and final set. In the end, the UT senior was able to pull away in the third set to clinch the match for the Lady Vols.
“Heather once again put everything she had into her match,” Macdonald stated. “She won the second after being down 2-5. She showed today what great strength and endurance she has.”
Vanderbilt will now practice and train for three weeks before their next dual competition on Feb. 20, when they travel to Princeton, N.J., for a dual with the 45th-ranked Tigers.
January 30, 2010
No. 11 Tennessee 4, No. 21 Vanderbilt 3
Doubles:
1. No. 1 Whoriskey / Pluskota (UT) def. No. 25 Steinbauer / Robertson (VU) 8-2
2. No. 40 Preeg / Wu (VU) vs. Alda / Zubor (UT) DNF, VU led 7-4
3. Meredith / Sorbello (UT) def. Newman / Ulery (VU) 8-2
Order of Finish: 1, 3
Singles:
1. No. 29 Jackie Wu (VU) def. No. 6 Caitlin Whoriskey (UT) 6-4, 7-5
2. No. 51 Maria Sorbello (UT) def. No. 31 Catherine Newman (VU) 6-1, 6-4
3. No. 32 Chelsea Preeg (VU) def. Natalie Pluskota (UT) 6-4, won by default
4. Rosalia Alda (UT) def. Keilly Ulery (VU) 7-6(7-4), 6-1
5. Zsofia Zubor (UT) def. Heather Steinbauer (VU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-1
6. Hannah Blatt (VU) def. Katie Lee (UT) 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 4, 2, 1, 6, 5 *
