CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team got the 2023-24 campaign off to a strong start by collecting a total of nine wins on the opening day of the Kitty Harrison Invitational.
The Commodores will be well-represented on the winner’s side of the bracket on Saturday at the Kitty Harrison Invitational, as Vanderbilt had two players advance to the semifinals in singles, while also having a pair of doubles teams move onto the semifinals in their respect brackets.
“I’m really pleased with our first day of competition here at North Carolina,” said Vanderbilt women’s tennis head coach Aleke Tsoubanos. “It’s the most competitive tennis we’ve played in a day in several months and we will continue to build on the volume of matches through the weekend and try to improve with each match.”
Freshman Valeria Ray made quite the impression in her first tournament with Vanderbilt as she collected a total of three victories. The Miami native picked up a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over No. 3-seed Eleni Louka of Clemson, who is nationally ranked No. 86, in the second round to reach the semifinals in the Navy bracket. Earlier in the day, she teamed up with senior Holly Staff to defeat Sophie Abrams and Anna Zyryanova of N.C. State 8-4 in doubles action to move onto the semifinals of the Tar bracket.
Sophomore Bridget Stammel, seeded third in the White bracket, reached the semifinals with a 7-5, 2-6, 10-4 win over SEC foe Qavia Lopez of Florida. On the doubles court, sophomore Celia-Belle Mohr and senior Anessa Lee moved into the penultimate round of the Ram bracket after collecting an 8-3 victory over Penn State’s Yvonne Zuffnova and Olivia Dorner.
“I saw some really good things in the doubles with Celia-Belle and Anessa and I thought Valeria and Holly did a great job digging out of an early hole and beating a good NC State team,” Tsoubanos expressed. “I’m really happy to see Bridget and Valeria advance through both rounds of singles of their draws in very competitive matches. Also Celia, Holly, and Anessa picked up some good wins this morning.”
The Commodores will resume action at the Kitty Harrison Invitational this Saturday with the doubles starting at 8 a.m. and singles at 9:15 a.m. Draws can be found here and matches can be streamed here.
Singles – Rounds 1 and 2 Results
Navy
Rd 1 – Anessa Lee (Vanderbilt) def. Yvonne Zuffova (Penn State) 6-4, 7-6(6)
Rd 2 – (4) Rachel Gailis (Florida) def. Lee (Vanderbilt) 2-6, 6-2, 10-5
Rd 1 – Valeria Ray (Vanderbilt) def. Taylor Cataldi (Wisconsin) 6-2, 6-4
Rd 2 – Ray (Vanderbilt) def. (3) Eleni Louka (Clemson) 6-2, 7-6(4)
White
Rd 1 – (3) Bridget Stammel (Vanderbilt) def. Lucie Petruzelova (Charlotte) 6-0, 6-3
Rd 2 – (3) Stammel (Vanderbilt) def. Qavia Lopez (Florida) 7-5, 2-6, 10-4
Rd 1 – Kira Matushkina (Old Dominion) def. Amy Stevens (Vanderbilt) 6-4, 6-2
Rd 2 – Emily De Oliveira (Florida) def. Stevens (Vanderbilt) 6-1, 6-2
Blue
Rd 1 – (1) Celia-Belle Mohr (Vanderbilt) def. Allison Isaacs (ODU) 6-3, 6-3
Rd 2 – Katie Codd (Duke) def. (1) Mohr (Vanderbilt) 6-4, 7-5
Rd 1 – Holly Staff (Vanderbilt) def. Sophia Johnson (ODU) 7-6(6), 7-5
Rd 2 – (2) Maria Sholokhova (Wisconsin) def. Staff (Vanderbilt) 3-6, 6-1, 10-6
Doubles – Round 1 Results
Tar
Holly Staff/Valeria Ray (Vanderbilt) def. Sophie Abrams/Anna Zyryanova (North Carolina State 8-4
Heel
Rosie Garcia Cross/Taylor Cataldi (Wisconsin) def. Bridget Stammel/Amy Stevens (Vanderbilt) 8-4
Ram
Celia-Belle Mohr/Anessa Lee (Vanderbilt) def. Yvonne Zuffova/Olivia Dorner (Penn State) 8-3
