The Northwestern women’s tennis squad must be feeling déjà vu. After losing to No. 23 Georgia Tech last weekend, the team suffered a second narrow defeat on the road as it fell to No. 22 Vanderbilt 4-3.

The Wildcats (4-3, 0-0 Big Ten) sought to add another road win to its resume with Sunday’s matchup against the Commodores (3-2, 0-0 SEC). 

Vanderbilt nabbed the first advantage on the doubles courts with a dominant 6-1 win over junior Justine Leong and graduate student Elisa Van Meeteren. 

While the pairing of senior Maria Shusharina and graduate student Britany Lau were at match point in a 5-4 showdown which saw their opponents held to 40-0 in the last game, a 6-4 loss on court two was enough to secure the lead for the Commodores. 

On the singles courts, Celia-Belle Mohr retired after her first set against Leong, conceding NU’s first team point.

Lau and freshman Autumn Rabjohns’ subsequent losses gave Vanderbilt a 3-1 advantage.

Though Vanderbilt teetered on the edge of victory, Shusharina held the Commodores at bay as she edged out Anessa Lee in a contested 7-5 tiebreak and in a commanding 6-3 set. 

All eyes shifted to court three where Hand displayed her tenacity against Bridget Stammel. Though Stammel took the first set 6-2, Hand answered back with her own 6-2 win. A hard-fought 6-4 third set saw the match go the Commodores’ way. 

While junior Sydney Pratt prevailed in straight sets on court six, Vanderbilt got the three wins it needed. 

The ‘Cats will look to recover from tough losses on the road next weekend. Back at the Combe Tennis Center, they’ll face Marshall on Friday, followed by Brown and Northern Illinois on Sunday. 

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