Women’s Tennis Defeats Arkansas in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals, 4-0 4/17/03
Commodores set for rematch with in-state rival Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 12th-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis achieved its first goal on Thursday, as the Commodores defeated Arkansas, 4-0, in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center. The Commodores and Lady Razorbacks were originally scheduled to play at 5 p.m., but due to inclement weather in Knoxville all afternoon, the match did not begin until 8:30 p.m.

The Commodores improve their overall record to 18-4, while the Lady Razorbacks fall to 8-14. Vanderbilt is now a perfect 7-0 against SEC Western Division opponents.

“I thought we played really well today against a talented Arkansas team,” Vanderbilt head coach Geoff Macdonald said. “They are a better team than their record indicates, and they have several good players. I was also pleased with the way we played in spite of the weather delaying our match several hours.”

Vanderbilt got things rolling on Thursday, as the clinched the doubles point in under an hour. The fourth-ranked team of Sarah Riske and junior Aleke
Tsoubanos cruised by Simona Arghire and Iliana Pacheco, 8-2, at the No. 1 position. With the win, Riske and Tsoubanos improve their season record to 27-5 overall and 18-4 in dual matches.

Junior Kelly Schmandt and sophomore Audra Falk locked up the doubles’ point for the ‘Dores, as they defeated Anna and Monika Dybicz, 8-3, at the No. 2 position. Schmandt and Falk are now 21-5 overall and 18-3 in dual matches. The Commodores have now won 19 of 22 doubles’ points this season.

The Commodores only needed three singles’ victories to win the match. Riske got things going by defeating Arghire, 6-1, 6-0. While it was her 23rd win of the season, it was her 100th career singles’ victory. She has now won 100 singles and 104 doubles’ matches over her four years. The 15th-ranked Riske will have a showdown with No. 1-ranked Vilmarie Castellvi of Tennessee on Friday.

Schmandt earned the third point for the Commodores, as she had no problems with Pacheco, 6-2, 6-1, at the No. 3 position. She improves to 21-4 on the season and 18-2 in dual matches. She will square off with All-SEC First Team member Crystal Cleveland on Friday.

Tsoubanos closed things out, as she eased by Dybicz, 6-2, 6-3, at the second position. Tsoubanos is now 22-8 on the season and 16-3 in dual matches at the No. 2 position. She is 19-3 overall in dual matches.

With Thursday’s win, the Commodores will now face eighth-ranked Tennessee in the quarterfinals at 5 p.m. (EST) Friday. The Commodores lost their only meeting to the Lady Volunteers back on March 2 in Knoxville, 4-3. Vanderbilt has lost two-straight meetings to Tennessee, including last year’s Sweet 16 match at the NCAA Tournament.

“We achieved our first goal, which was to win our opening match,” Macdonald
said. “We’re now looking forward to a tough match with a very talented
Tennessee team.”

Singles

Doubles