STARKVILLE, Miss. – The No. 11 Vanderbilt women’s tennis team won its seventh straight match and fifth consecutive conference match as it defeated No. 63 Mississippi State 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. Due to weather concerns, the teams played singles first and did not play any doubles matches.
The win improves Vanderbilt to 15-3 and 5-3 in Southeastern Conference matches, while Mississippi State falls to 7-9 and 0-8 in league play.
Senior Amanda Taylor got the Commodores off to an early lead with a win at No. 1 singles. Taylor, ranked 22nd nationally in singles, defeated Martina Banikova in straight sets 6-2, 6-0.
No. 94 Taka Bertrand extended the Vanderbilt lead to 2-0 with her 10th-consecutive singles victory. Bertrand defeated Elna de Villiers 6-1, 6-1 at the third singles position to improve her dual match record to 16-2 and 7-1 in SEC matches.
Freshman Keilly Ulery was the third Commodore to pick up a singles victory as she defeated DeAndra Saddler 6-3, 6-4 on court four. Ulery improves her SEC singles record to 6-2 and 11-5 overall.
Radka Ferancova picked up the first point for Mississippi State. Ferancova got past No. 58 Courtney Ulery 6-4, 7-6 (4).
For the second straight match, senior Caroline Ferrell clinched the match for the Commodores at No. 6 singles. Ferrell won a three-set match over Valeriya Makarycheva. After winning the first set 6-4, Ferrell dropped the middle set 6-1. Ferrell responded by winning the third set 6-3 to give the Black and Gold the victory. Ferrell improves her singles record to 14-4 and 5-3 in league matches.
Mississippi State’s Renee Joseph closed out the match with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 victory over No. 34 Catherine Newman at the second singles position.
Vanderbilt returns to action next weekend as it welcomes two ranked league opponents to the Currey Tennis Center. The Commodores host No. 20 Tennessee on Friday at 2:30 and No. 9 Georgia on Sunday at Noon.
Sunday’s Results:
No. 11 Vanderbilt 4 def. No. 63 Mississippi State 2
Singles:
1. No. 22 Amanda Taylor (VU) def. Martina Banikova (MSU) – 6-2, 6-0
2. Renee Joseph (MSU) def. No. 34 Catherine Newman (VU) – 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
3. No. 94 Taka Bertrand (VU) def. Elna de Villiers (MSU) – 6-1, 6-1
4. Radka Ferancova (MSU) def. No. 58 Courtney Ulery (VU) – 6-4, 7-6 (4)
5. Keilly Ulery (VU) def. DeAndra Saddler (MSU) – 6-3, 6-4
6. Caroline Ferrell (VU) def. Valeriya Makarycheva (MSU) – 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 5, 4, 6, 2
Doubles:
Not Contested
Updated Team Records: Vanderbilt (15-3, 5-3 SEC); Mississippi State (7-9, 0-8 SEC)
