CARY, N.C. — Vanderbilt women’s tennis advanced both of its doubles teams competing in the opening round of qualifying at the ITA All-American Championships on Monday.
Sophomore Valeria Ray started off the action early for the Commodores. She faced Florida State’s Maria Juliana Parra Romero in the first round of qualifying singles. Ray won three consecutive matches in prequalifying over the weekend ahead of Monday’s matchup. Romero struck first, taking the initial set 6-4. Ray bounced back in the second, winning multiple extended rallies to capture the set 6-4. She pushed ahead to a 2-0 game lead in the third set before Romero regained momentum. The Seminole rattled off four straight game wins and eventually outlasted Ray 6-4 to take the match.
“She came up just short today, but an absolutely outstanding singles match from Valeria,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “I know it wasn’t the result she wanted, but the level of play was so incredibly good and she’s improving by the match.”
The Dores continued ahead to the first round of doubles qualifying. Fresh off her career-high No. 3 ranking in the ITA preaseason list, senior Célia-Belle Mohr took the court for the first time this season. She joined freshman Sophia Webster, together ranked No. 29; they faced Viginia Tech’s Semra Aksu and Ozlem Uslu. After a contested opening two games, Mohr and Webster took control and never looked back. The pair downed their Hokie opponents 6-3, 6-1.
“We got two big wins in the doubles matches today,” said Tsoubanos. “Really proud of Sophia and Célia in their first match together. They looked really sharp and connected well with one another.”
Ray returned to the court alongside junior Bridget Stammel, making up the No. 64 ranked doubles team. Their first round of qualifying was an interconference matchup against Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee of Florida. The first set was a quick 6-2 victory in favor of Vanderbilt. The second looked to be much of the same, as Ray and Stammel jumped out to a 4-1 game lead. Dudeney and Spee fended off the Dores for as long as they could, sending the set to a tiebreaker before ultimately falling 7-5.
“Bridget and Valeria were fantastic in doubles against Florida,” Tsoubanos said. “Jack [Findel-Hawkins] and Kelly [Chen] did an outstanding job with them today. Truthfully, it’s one of the most complete matches I’ve seen them play and it had everything: great play at net, aggression, formations, strong serving and returning, brilliant defense, and they were emotionally together. It was a very impressive victory and I’m excited to see both teams play tomorrow.”
Mohr and Webster match up against UCLA’s Olivia Center and Kate Fakih tomorrow in the second round of qualifying. The two are coached by none other than Webster’s mother, Stella Sampras Webster. That contest is set to begin at 4:00 p.m. ET. Ray and Stammel also take on a pair of Bruins, No. 28 ranked Ahmani Guichard and Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer, slated to take place tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. ET as well.
