OXFORD, Miss. – The 11th-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team extended its win streak to six as it swept Ole Miss 7-0 on Friday afternoon at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center in Oxford. The win improves the Commodores to 4-3 in Southeastern Conference play and 14-3 overall, while Ole Miss drops to 4-13 overall and 0-7 in league play.
The Commodores won two of three doubles matches to pick up their sixth consecutive doubles point. Amanda Taylor and Courtney Ulery staked the Commodores to an early lead in doubles with an 8-4 win over Nika Koukhartchouk and Karen Nijssen at No. 1 doubles. Ole Miss evened doubles play at the third position as Preethi Subramanian and Soledad Podlipnik defeated Taka Bertrand and Keilly Ulery 8-6.
The doubles point was decided at No. 2 doubles in a match that went into a tiebreaker. The Vanderbilt duo of Caroline Ferrell and Catherine Newman picked up a 9-8 (6) win over Mimi Renaudin and Laura van de Stroet to give the Black and Gold a 1-0 lead.
No. 34 Newman extended the Vanderbilt lead to 2-0 with a straight-set victory over Nijssen at No. 2 singles. Newman won the opening set 6-3, and captured the second set 6-4.
Freshman Keilly Ulery brought the Commodores within one point of clinching the match with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Renaudin at the fifth singles position. The win improves Ulery to 10-5 in dual matches and 5-2 in SEC matches.
Vanderbilt clinched the victory at No. 6 singles as Caroline Ferrell picked up a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Podlipnik. The win was Ferrell’s 13th in dual match play on the season.
No. 94 Bertrand extended her singles win streak to nine with a 6-4, 7-5 over van de Stroet. With the win, Bertrand improves her record in dual matches to 15-2, including a team-best 6-1 mark in SEC matches.
The Vanderbilt lead increased to 6-0 with a win by No. 58 Courtney Ulery at No. 4 singles. Ulery won the opening set 7-5, but her opponent Subramanian captured the second set 6-4. Ulery won a 10-point tiebreaker in the third set 10-3 to win the match.
No. 22 Taylor clinched the sweep for the Commodores with a hard-fought, three-set victory over Koukhartchouk at No. 1 singles. After dropping the opening set 6-3, Taylor responded by winning the next two sets 6-2, 7-5 for the victory.
Vanderbilt returns to action on Sunday as it closes out the road portion of its schedule at No. 63 Mississippi State. Opening serve is slated for 1 p.m.
Friday’s Results:
No. 11 Vanderbilt 7 def. Ole Miss 0
Doubles:
1. Amanda Taylor/Courtney Ulery (VU) def. Nika Koukhartchouk/Karen Nijssen (OM) – 8-4
2. Caroline Ferrell/Catherine Newman (VU) def. Mimi Renaudin/Laura van de Stroet (OM) – 9-8 (6)
3. Soledad Podlipnik/Preethi Subramanian (OM) def. Taka Bertrand/Keilly Ulery (VU) – 8-6
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles:
1. No. 22 Amanda Taylor (VU) def. Nika Koukhartchouk (OM) – 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. No. 34 Catherine Newman (VU) def. Karen Nijssen (OM) – 6-3, 6-4
3. No. 94 Taka Bertrand (VU) def. Laura van de Stroet (OM) – 6-4, 7-5
4. No. 58 Courtney Ulery (VU) def. Preethi Subramanian (OM) – 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (3)
5. Keilly Ulery (VU) def. Mimi Renaudin (OM) – 6-4, 6-2
6. Caroline Ferrell (VU) def. Soledad Podlipnik (OM) – 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 6, 3, 4, 1
Updated Team Records: Vanderbilt (14-3, 4-3 SEC); Ole Miss (4-13, 0-7 SEC)
