Vanderbilt freshmen Jackie Wu, Chelsea Preeg and Heather Steinbauer registered singles wins, but in the end, it wasn't enough as the Commodores fell 4-3 to 29th-ranked Arkansas at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center Sunday. The loss drops Vanderbilt to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the Southeastern Conference while Arkansas improves to 8-3 and 3-1 SEC.
Arkansas got on the board first as they captured the doubles point en route to taking all three doubles matches from the Commodores. The doubles point proved to be key in the end as the Razorbacks held off the Commodore comeback.
Vanderbilt quickly tied the match up at 1-1, as Preeg cruised through Emily Carbone in the number four singles spot, winning in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. The win moved Preeg's record to a team-best 19-6 overall and 5-1 in dual season. The Razorbacks would regain the lead as Nanar Airapetian defeated Vanderbilt's Courtney Ulery in number five singles.
Trailing 3-1 with three singles matches yet to be determined, the Commodores rallied to take two of the last three matches. Vanderbilt cut the Arkansas lead back to one with Steinbauer's straight set win over Kate Lukomskaya, 6-2, 7-5, pushing her winning streak to five matches. The Woodlands, Texas, native improved to 13-4 overall and a perfect 5-0 in dual play.
Following Steinbauer's match, the Razorbacks were able to clinch the overall match when 97th-ranked Anouk Tigu defeated Vanderbilt's Keilly Ulery, 6-4, 6-4 in number two singles.
Vanderbilt's Jackie Wu closed out the meet with a straight set (7-5, 6-1) victory over Ela Kaluder. It marked the first time all spring that Wu had competed in the number three singles slot. Wu improved to 18-7 overall and 3-3 in dual play.
The Commodores will return to the friendly confines of the Currey Tennis Center this week for a mid-week showdown with No. 40 Princeton. The dual with the Tigers will get underway Wednesday starting with doubles at 3 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Travis Young
