NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 16 Vanderbilt women’s tennis team won four singles matches to seal a come-from-behind victory over No. 9 Notre Dame (1-1) in a hard-fought dual match Saturday afternoon at the Currey Tennis Center.
“A lot of things went against us today and we still won against a top-10 team,” Vanderbilt women’s tennis head coach Geoff Macdonald said. “I believed in how good a team we are and today showed it. We were down for about 90 percent of the match but we won at the end. It was a fascinating dual to watch.”
Vanderbilt (5-0) fell behind early after losing the doubles point for the first time this season. The team of Amanda Taylor and Courtney Ulery got the `Dores off to a strong start with an 8-5 victory over the 50th-ranked team of Kali Krisik and Colleen Rielley. Notre Dame quickly answered back with a win at the No. 1 position as the No. 3 team of Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft downed Taka Bertrand and Catherine Newman 8-5.
Notre Dame clinched the doubles point at the third position with Cosmina Ciobanu and Kristen Rafael. Ciobanu and Rafael won a hard-fought match 9-8 (4) to seal the first point of the match for the Fighting Irish.
No. 13 Courtney Ulery evened the match for a short period of time at the No. 3 singles position with a dominating, straight-set win over No. 88 Rielley 6-1, 6-4. Ulery improved her spring record to 5-0. Tefft gave the Irish the lead back at 2-1 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Taka Bertrand at No. 4 singles.
No. 34 Taylor evened the match for the second time as she downed No. 62 Ciobanu 6-4, 6-2 at the first singles position. Notre Dame regained the lead 3-2 as No. 82 Katie Potts handed Keilly Ulery her first singles loss of the season 7-5, 7-5 at the No. 5 singles position.
Ferrell would even the match for the final time at No. 6 singles as she earned a win over No. 89 Krisik 6-2, 6-4.
The deciding match came at No. 2 singles between No. 24 Newman and No. 64 Buck. Buck won the opening set 6-4. Newman, playing in her second-consecutive, three-set match bounced back with a 6-3 second-set win and a dominating 6-2 win in the third set to seal the comeback victory for the Commodores.
“Catherine is an incredible player,” Macdonald said. “She is superbly fit. She’s just as tough mentally as she is physically. I felt very good when she began to get back into it. When Caroline (Ferrell) pulled ahead, I thought we had a shot. Sure enough, we were able to come back for the win.”
The Commodores return to action on Saturday, February 16, when they play host to East Tennessee State. Opening serve is slated for 2:30 p.m. at the Currey Tennis Center.
Saturday’s Results:
No. 16 Vanderbilt 4, No. 9 Notre Dame 3
Currey Tennis Center – Nashville, Tenn.
Doubles Play:
1. No. 3 Brook Buck/Kelcy Tefft (ND) def. Taka Bertrand/Catherine Newman (VU) – 8-5
2. Amanda Taylor/Courtney Ulery (VU) def. No. 50 Kali Krisik/Colleen Rielley (ND) – 8-5
3. Cosmina Ciobanu/Kristen Rafael (ND) def. Caroline Ferrell/Keilly Ulery (VU) – 9-8 (4)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles Play:
1. No. 34 Amanda Taylor (VU) def. No. 62 Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) – 6-4, 6-2
2. No. 24 Catherine Newman (VU) def. No. 64 Brook Buck (ND) – 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. No. 13 Courtney Ulery (VU) def. No. 88 Colleen Rielley (VU) – 6-1, 6-4
4. Kelcy Tefft (ND) def. Taka Bertrand (VU) – 6-3, 6-1
5. No. 82 Katie Potts (ND) def. Keilly Ulery (VU) – 7-5, 7-5
6. Caroline Ferrell (VU) def. No. 89 Kali Krisik (ND) – 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 4, 1, 5, 6, 2
Updated Team Records: Vanderbilt 5-0; Notre Dame 1-1
