NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt women’s tennis fell short in a rematch with No. 4 Texas A&M, 4-3, at the Lummis Family Tennis Center on Friday.
“It was a tough end result today in a very competitive match,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “I give Texas A&M credit for competing well and playing the bigger moments of the match a little bit better than we did.”
The Aggies immediately took hold of the momentum, claiming the doubles point with wins at their No. 2 and No. 3 positions. No. 2 graduate Célia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster were tied 4-4 with No. 15 Mia Kupres and Lucciana Perez when the match was abandoned. The result ends a seven-match doubles point streak for the Commodores.
“We didn’t get off on the right foot to start out; we needed to be more active at the net and have a much better first serve percentage,” Tsoubanos said. “We are certainly capable of playing better doubles, and need to fix a few things to give ourselves the best chance to start up 1-0.”
No. 34 Mohr set the tone in singles play, delivering a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of No. 35 Kupres to get Vanderbilt (11-3, 1-1 SEC) on the board. Texas A&M (10-2, 2-0 SEC) regained an advantage behind a 6-2, 6-1 win from Violeta Martinez over No. 69 ranked freshman Mia Yamakita. With the Dores needing three more points for a win, the four remaining courts went to three sets. Despite a back-and-forth match, Vanderbilt’s comeback effort fell short in defeats at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. The two teams split wins in the final pair of matches, which were played out after the clinch point. Freshman Erin Pearce earned her first ranked singles win with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2 takedown of No. 125 Daria Smetannikov. The victory extends Pearce’s individual win streak to seven.
“I certainly didn’t have Célia’s 6-0, 6-0 win over Kupres on my bingo card, but she was just outstanding today,” Tsoubanos said. “I think that really gave a boost to the rest of the team, to see her really quickly put that point on the board and even us at 1-1. From there we had opportunities on four of the other five singles courts. Ultimately, I think in the three-set matches we played hard, but there were some freebies we wish we could have back.”
“It was wonderful to have an awesome crowd out this afternoon, and their support was definitely felt on the court,” Tsoubanos concluded. “I want to give a special thank you to all of our alumni that came out to cheer us on. Sunday presents another rematch, this time with Texas, so we look forward to turning the page and getting back up for another battle.”
Vanderbilt hosts another top-25 opponent, No. 16 Texas (6-3, 1-1 SEC), on Sunday with first serve set for 1 p.m. For more information, updates and exclusive match day content, follow the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team, @VandyWTennis, on Instagram and X.
No. 4 Texas A&M 4, No. 39 Vanderbilt 3
Doubles
1. No. 2 Mohr/Webster [Vanderbilt] vs. No. 15 Kupres/Perez [Texas A&M] 4-4, unfinished
2. Ilinca Amariei/Martinez [Texas A&M] def. No. 10 Valeria Ray/Bridget Stammel [Vanderbilt] 6-3
3. Lexington Reed/Smetannikov [Texas A&M] def. No. 64 Pearce/Yamakita [Vanderbilt] 6-3
Singles
1. No. 34 Mohr [Vanderbilt] def. No. 35 Kupres [Texas A&M] 6-0, 6-0
2. No. 5 Perez [Texas A&M] def. No. 42 Stammel [Vanderbilt] 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
3. Amariei [Texas A&M] def. No. 15 Ray [Vanderbilt] 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-3
4. Reed [Texas A&M] def. Trinetra Vijayakumar [Vanderbilt] 6-4, 6-7 (8), 7-5
5. Martinez [Texas A&M] def. No. 69 Yamakita [Vanderbilt] 6-2, 6-1
6. Pearce [Vanderbilt] def. No. 125 Smetannikov [Texas A&M] 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,5,2,3,6,4)
