NASHVILLE, Tenn. - With last weekend’s difficult, 4-3, loss to fourth-ranked Duke behind them, the eighth-ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team is set to host No. 58-ranked Iowa and No. 56-ranked Tulsa at the Brownlee O. Currey Tennis Center. The Commodores will take on the Hawkeyes at 2:30 p.m. Friday and the Golden Hurricanes at 12 p.m. Sunday. The Hawkeyes will take on the Golden Hurricanes at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Currey Tennis Center.

While the Commodores will be competing in their eighth and ninth dual matches of the season, the Hawkeyes and Golden Hurricanes are really just getting their seasons started. Tulsa proved in its season opener against Southwest Missouri State how crucial the doubles point is, as the Golden Hurricanes claimed the point and held on for a 4-3 victory.

Tulsa’s top two players of Alicia Pillay and Aleksandra Durska did not have many problems in their two singles matches. Tulsa’s only two seniors gave up a total of five games in four sets of action against Southwest Missouri State’s top two players.

Pillay is Tulsa’s highest ranked player in the ITA national poll, as she comes in ranked No. 20, which should make for an exciting and competitive match with Vanderbilt senior Sarah Riske at the No. 1 position. Durska, who will most likely take on Vanderbilt junior Aleke Tsoubanos, stands at No. 102 by the ITA. The two are ranked No. 1 and 6, respectively, in the ITA Central Region rankings. Pillay and Durska also make a formidable doubles team, and will have the opportunity to take on No. 2-ranked Riske and Tsoubanos on Sunday.
Led by head coach Paul Wardlaw, Iowa kicked its season off with two dual-match victories - both of which were 7-0 sweeps against DePaul and Iowa State. The Hawkeyes’ contest with Tulsa starts a swing which 14 of their next 15 matches are against ranked teams.

In last weekend’s Hawkeye Invitational, sophomore Gloria Okino went undefeated in both singles and doubles, as she won all three of her singles and doubles matches. She was able survive two grueling three-set matches along the way. With her doubles partner Steffi Hoch, the two were also able to go unscathed. Iowa’s top doubles team of juniors Cassie Haas and Denitza Alexandrova are presently ranked No. 12 in the ITA Central Region.

Despite dropping their first dual match of the season last weekend, the Commodores are playing solid tennis in both singles and doubles. Junior Kelly Schmandt and sophomore Audra Falk have been on a role since the start of the 2003 season, as they are a combined 14-0 in dual matches. Riske, who fell to No. 2-ranked Kelly McCain of Duke in three tough sets, Tsoubanos and freshman Ashley Schellhas all have 6-1 singles records at their respective positions.

Riske and Tsoubanos have continued to prove they are one of the top doubles teams in the country, as they are presently 7-0 in dual matches and 16-1 during the 2002-03 season.