Women's tennis has been Vanderbilt's most consistent postseason team for over a decade, and once again the Commodores are heating up at the right time.
Nineteenth-ranked Vanderbilt (9-5, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) is riding a four-match winning streak into this weekend, where it will visit SEC foes Georgia and Tennessee before ending the regular season on April 18 at Kentucky. The Commodores have made it to at least the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament for 11 straight seasons and, after a rocky patch, appear to be back on track to continuing that streak.
Senior Courtney Ulery, who captured her 90th career win on April 5 against Ole Miss, said the recent run, which also included wins over Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi State, gives the team a boost heading into the road stretch.
"The wins give us more confidence as a team; when we all show up and perform together, we can definitely accomplish anything," she said. "I, and I feel that I can speak for the team, think we are in a good position heading into our last three SEC matches."
The streak is more significant given the tough stretch the team endured in March, dropping four out of five matches, all of which could have easily gone the other way, including a tight 4-3 loss to No. 6 Georgia Tech on March 25.
"We had a few tough, close losses early to really good teams which hurt, but they also helped us realize how good we were," said junior Catherine Newman.
All aspects, and ages, of the team have been clicking. Vanderbilt's heralded freshmen have showed no signs of growing pains with the transition into college play.
Heather Steinbauer was just named the SEC Freshman of the Week after going 2-0 in singles and 1-1 in doubles over the weekend against Ole Miss and Mississippi State. With a come-from-behind, three-set win at No. 5 singles over the Rebels, it marked the third time in four matches she clinched a dual win for the Commodores. Her record in conference singles play stands at 7-0.
She's not alone in excelling among the team's rookies; Jackie Wu improved her record to 23-8 with a win over Ole Miss and Chelsea Preeg has a 9-3 dual record and 23-8 overall record on the season as well.
"The freshmen have done an amazing job this year," Newman said. "They contribute both on and off the court, and I'm just really happy with how they've been doing in all aspects."
With Ulery and Newman providing veteran leadership as well, the Commodores are starting to pick up some momentum with postseason play beginning April 23.
"When it gets down to the wire, momentum becomes extremely important," Ulery said. "I feel that we have been slowly working our way through matches and improving. Now, heading into our final three matches, I think we are playing the best tennis we have played all season, collectively."
