NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt women’s tennis looks to rebound after consecutive losses in a matchup with No. 1 ranked defending champion Georgia at the Lummis Family Tennis Center on Friday.
The Commodores dropped two contests to No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 16 Texas at home last weekend. Vanderbilt (11-4, 1-2 SEC) will attempt to rebound against top-ranked Georgia (8-1, 3-0 SEC), who has already claimed one title this season after winning the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in February. The Bulldogs have dropped just one match so far, a 5-2 defeat at North Carolina on Feb. 1. Since then, Georgia has rattled off seven wins in a row, three of which came in shutout fashion. They have already notched five wins against SEC opponents this year and sit at 3-0 in conference play. The Bulldogs are coming off a 4-0 rout of No. 9 LSU last Saturday.
Last season, the Dores came within one point of knocking off Georgia in Athens, falling 4-3 in a match that came down to the final court. The teams renew their annual matchup with the Bulldogs leading the all-time series 40-13. Vanderbilt’s last victory in the series came in 2018, as the No. 3 Commodores generated a 4-1 win in Nashville.
The black and gold held strong in the updated ITA individual rankings. Junior Valeria Ray remains the team’s top-ranked singles player at No. 21. She is followed by graduate Célia-Belle Mohr, who sits just behind Ray at No. 24. Senior Bridget Stammel remains at No. 42 in the singles rankings and freshman Mia Yamakita rounds out the Dores at No. 85. In doubles, Mohr along with sophomore Sophia Webster held firm in the top five at No. 5. Vandy’s second and third doubles pairs stay in the rankings as well, with Ray and Stammel at No. 16 and the freshmen duo of Yamakita and Erin Pearce at No. 88.
Georgia has six players in the singles rankings: No. 6 Aysegul Mert, No. 36 Anastasiia Gureva, No. 37 Anastasiia Lopata, No. 48 Deniz Dilek, No. 61 Sofia Rojas and No. 115 Patricija Paukstyte. It is tied for the most players ranked in singles by any Division I program along with Auburn and North Carolina. Like Vanderbilt, three of Georgia’s doubles pairings are ranked, led by No. 8 Dilek and Mert. Both Dilek and Mert are additionally ranked as a different pairing, with Mert and Gureva at No. 43 and Dilek with Emma Dong at No. 49.
Vanderbilt and Georgia are set for a 5 p.m. first serve from the Lummis Family Tennis Center. Live streaming is available online with live stats accessible here. For more information, updates and exclusive match day content, follow the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team, @VandyWTennis, on Instagram and X.
