CINCINNATI – After posting five consecutive wins in the last four days, sophomore Jackie Wu fell in a hard fought three-set tiebreaker to Tennessee’s top-seeded Caitlin Whoriskey in the singles final of the ITA Ohio Valley Regional on Monday.
“I am extremely proud of the way Jackie competed today in the Regional final,” Assistant Coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “Her match with Whoriskey was the best tennis I’ve seen this fall. Jackie’s progress has been outstanding and I look forward to her continued growth as a player.”
Wu, a native of Holmdel, N.J., started out strong in the match as she took the first set 6-4, over the 27th-ranked Whoriskey before dropping the second set 6-4.
The two players battled back and forth in what was a very evenly matched contest. Wu and Whoriskey traded nearly ever other win in the third and final set, forcing a tiebreaker when the match was deadlocked at six games apiece.
Early in the tiebreaker both players traded off points in what was already a championship caliber match, but in the end it was the senior from Tennessee that narrowly edged the Commodore, winning 10-7 in the tiebreaker. The loss to Whoriskey, drops Wu’s record to 12-3. The sophomore has won 10 of her last 12 matches.
The championship match marked the final match of what was already a very successfully tournament for the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team. The ‘Dores dominated the singles and doubles play all weekend long in Cincinnati as they ended the four-day event a combined 23-6 and 11-2 in doubles. More impressively, three of VU’s losses in singles and both of Vanderbilt’s losses in doubles came against another Commodore.
VU finished the weekend undefeated in doubles when playing against another school in doubles and won nearly 90 percent of its singles matches.
“The Ohio Valley Regional was a fantastic tournament for the team in terms of results but more importantly development,” Tsoubanos said. “We were able to play a lot of matches at a high level and competed with enthusiasm. I am extremely pleased with how much we are improving as a team in both singles and in doubles and I look forward to what this Vanderbilt team can accomplish.”
The ‘Dores will return to the hard courts in two weeks as they travel east to Knoxville, Tenn., to partake in the St. Mary’s Tournament on the weekend of Nov. 6-8.
Monday October 26, 2009
Singles Final
Caitlin Whoriskey (Tennessee) def. Jackie Wu (VU) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7)
