ORLANDO, Fla. — Vanderbilt women’s tennis overcame singles elimination and stayed alive in the NCAA Championships behind a comeback effort from the No. 12 ranked duo of graduate Célia-Belle Mohr and sophomore Sophia Webster on Wednesday at the USTA National Campus.
The Dores began the day with No. 45 junior Valeria Ray in a singles rematch from the ITA Sectional Championships against No. 67 Emily Welker of Ole Miss. The Dore came out of the gates firing, cruising to a 6-2 first set win. Welker responded in the next set to even the match after taking the second frame 6-0; Ray was held scoreless in three of the six games. And despite some fight shown from the Dore in the final set, it was not enough to overcome the shift in momentum. Welker finished off the third set 6-3, eliminating Ray from the singles draw.
Freshman Mia Yamakita was next up for Vanderbilt in yet another ranked match versus Kansas’ No. 103 ranked Kyoka Kubo. It was again a first set barrage for the Dores as Yamakita quickly claimed a 6-2 advantage in the opener. The freshman ran the score up to 4-2 in the second with what looked to be back-to-back swift victories after yesterday’s dominant showing. Kubo, though, adjusted with an underhand serve, delivering short, spinning strikes that forced Yamakita into awkward angles closer to the net. The change in tactics gave Kubo the response she needed and fueled the Jayhawk to a 7-6 (5) second set victory. Despite playing to a 3-3 tie in the final set, Yamakita could not get past Kubo, ultimately falling 6-3.
“Obviously some tough outcomes in singles,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “From Bridget [Stammel] yesterday in a match that went down to the wire with [Reese] Brantmeier, to both Valeria and Mia today. We put ourselves in pretty good situations to serve out some matches and saw match points, but weren’t able to play the big moments better than our opponents, and that’s something we will have to learn from for sure.”
“But there were some great wins yesterday for Valeria over [Teah] Chavez and Mia over [Darya] Schwartzman to be proud of,” Tsoubanos continued. “They gave themselves a shot to advance today. This is a strong field of players and everyone is fighting their tails off to survive and advance, so we will learn from these moments to help propel us forward for the dual season. Mia is the first freshman in program history to qualify for this event in singles, and I’m so proud of the way she’s competing and enjoying every moment of a new experience.”
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With Vanderbilt eliminated in singles, the Dores’ final hope of advancing rested on the shoulders of Mohr and Webster. The No. 4 seeded pair drew No. 13 ranked Greta Greco and Mao Mushika in the opening round of doubles play. The Golden Bears snatched a 4-1 advantage early on and fended off a late push from the Dore duo to take the first set 6-4. Vandy immediately produced a break point to begin the second set, rolling ahead 5-3 before sending the match to a super tiebreaker with a 6-4 set win. And although Cal started the tiebreak set up 2-1, the Dores would not be denied. Mohr and Webster regained the lead at 3-2 and did not relinquish it for the remainder of the match en route to a 10-5 clinch. The pair moves to 4-1 against ranked opponents this season; it is their 10th career ranked win as a doubles team.
“It was a little bit of a rocky start to the doubles match for sure, but I thought Célia and Sophia kept their composure very well,” Tsoubanos said. “We got back to 4-4 and nearly had a chance to sneak out the first set. We knew we needed to reset, put together one good set and get to a 10-point tiebreaker. They responded beautifully in the second while playing some huge points in the breaker to advance. When they’re enjoying the moment, trusting one another and committing to their identity, they’re the best doubles team in the country.”
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Vandy will face Liv Hovde and Shavit Kimchi of Duke tomorrow in the doubles round of 16. Hovde is one half of the No. 2 ranked doubles team, playing without the Blue Devils’ Irina Balus. First serve is expected around 1:30 p.m. following singles play. The NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships tournament page is available online with live stats available here. Each match will be streamed on ESPN+, and main coverage will be provided by Cracked Racquets.
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