NASHVILLE – No. 21 Vanderbilt will take on the No. 2 team in the country, UCLA, in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship Friday, Feb. 8 at 11 a.m. CT, hosted by the University of Virginia at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.

 

Vanderbilt is 4-0 on the season with all four wins coming over top 30 teams in the country.

 

About the ITA National Team Indoor Championship

 

The University of Virginia and Boar’s Head Sports Club are hosting the prestigious event for the third-straight year. Joining No. 21 Vanderbilt in the 16-team field are No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 USC, No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 Cal, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 Miami (Fla.), No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Virginia, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 14 Northwestern, No. 15 Baylor, No. 16 Michigan and No. 17 Nebraska.

 

A total of five conferences will be represented at this year's Championship, with the ACC and SEC each placing four teams in the draw. The Big Ten and Pac-12 are sending three teams a piece to Charlottesville, while the Big 12 will have two squads in the field of 16.

 

Dual matches are scheduled at 9 a.m., 12 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday with the championship match set for 11 a.m. on Monday. Each of the 16 teams is guaranteed three matches during the championship and Virginia will be given priority for all 3:30 p.m. matches as the host institution. Fans can attend the four-day championship FREE of charge.

 

Last Time Out

 

The Commodores are coming off a road win at No. 22 Georgia Tech, 6-1, last Saturday, Feb. 2. Lauren Mira, playing in the No. 1 position, improved her dual record to 6-1 after an impressive win over Georgia Tech’s No. 39 Elizabeth Kilborn, 6-3, 7-5. Mira and Courtney Colton started the day in dominating fashion winning in No. 1 doubles. The Vandy duo trailed 2-1, before winning the next seven games to win, 8-2, over Kilborn and Alex Anghelescu. Frances Altick and Georgina Sellyn then delivered with a win in No. 3 doubles over Muriel Wacker and Natasha Prokhnevska, 8-3. Leading 1-0 after doubles, Vanderbilt got out to a quick start in singles action, as Altick defeated Kurey in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, in the No. 4 position. Casares then registered a win in No. 3 singles to give Vanderbilt a 3-0 lead. The Quito, Ecuador, native defeated (Alex) Anghelescu, 6-3, 6-4. Antal sealed the win for Vanderbilt in No. 6 singles. The sophomore defeated (Muriel) Wacker, 7-6, 6-4. After dropping the first set (3-6), (Georgina) Sellyn battled back to win the second and third sets over (Natasha) Prokhnevska, 7-5, 6-2.

 

About No. 2 UCLA

 

The UCLA Bruins come into this year's championship as the defending champions after defeating Duke, 4-0 in the finals last season. They are currently ranked No. 2 in the ITA Women's Team Rankings and have earned the top seed overall. The Bruins are 3-0 on the season, with all three wins coming at home over ranked opponents - No. 44 Washington, No. 49 San Diego, and No. 65 UC Irvine. The Bruins bring four nationally-ranked singles players to Charlottesville, led by sixth-ranked Robin Anderson, who is undefeated on the year and has already claimed singles titles at the 2012 USTA/ITA Southwest Region Championships and the 2012 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. Anderson is also ranked 16th in doubles with fellow sophomore Skylar Morton. UCLA could be without the services of 96th-ranked Pamela Montez in singles, as she is still recovering from a hand injury.

 

Live Scoring

 

Live stats for the event can be found at VirginiaSports.com and fans are encouraged to visit ITATennis.com for comprehensive information about the championship.

 

Up Next

 

Vanderbilt heads Texas for a two-match road trip Feb. 16-17. The Commodores will play No. 15 Baylor Feb. 16 in Waco and then No. 38 TCU in Fort Worth Feb. 17.