Down Goes No. 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two Commodores notched career-high ranked wins as No. 16 Vanderbilt upended defending NCAA champion No. 2 Texas A&M 5-2 on Sunday.

“I’m speechless,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “I cannot say enough about this group and how competitive they were in every singles position. We’ve been knocking on the door, losing close ones at Oklahoma and against Texas. For them to regroup from that […] I’m so proud of them. Incredible, incredible college dual match. This is a massive win for us.”

The Aggies entered the match on a seven win streak and brought that momentum in doubles play. Texas A&M grabbed the early advantage with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Coming into Sunday, the Aggies were 12-0 in matches when capturing the doubles point.

No. 35-ranked junior Bridget Stammel flipped the switch for the Dores in singles. She had dropped consecutive singles matches, but pulled ahead 6-1 in the first set against No. 51 Mia Kupres. Texas A&M evened the score in the second set 6-2. Stammel held on in the third, sealing the set 6-3 to bring the match score to 1-1.

At No. 1 singles, No. 44-ranked senior Célia-Belle Mohr matched up against the reigning back-to-back SEC Player of the Year, No. 3 Mary Stoiana. Mohr grabbed the first set 7-5, and led early in the second. Stoiana battled back for a 6-4 second set win to force a third. With multiple extended rallies and a serve that produced four aces in the match, Mohr finished the takedown of Stoiana in the final frame 6-3. The win is the 10th straight for Mohr, who improves to 7-2 against nationally ranked opponents.

The top two in SEC singles wins, No. 119-ranked sophomore Valeria Ray and No. 15 Nicole Khirin, battled at the No. 3 position. Khirin notched a swift 6-1 set victory to open the match, marking the first time since Feb. 21 that Ray has lost a first set. With a 16-match win streak on the line, Ray pushed Khirin to the limit, battling back to take the second 7-5.

Each point in the third set continued to go back and forth, however, Khirin surged ahead early 3-0. Ray bounced back with multiple break points en route to a 5-5 tie. Both players were nearly inseparable in the final moments as the match headed to a 6-6 tiebreaker. Ray faced a match point after Khirin snatched a 6-5 advantage. Using her serve, the sophomore secured back-to-back points before eventually completing the comeback with an 8-6 tiebreak win. Ray’s streak improves to 17, just three away from matching the program record for consecutive victories.

Vanderbilt needed one point to clinch the match with two courts still active: freshman Sophia Webster at No. 5 singles and senior Amy Stevens at No. 6. Both Dores took first set advantages before falling in the second. With the match on the line, the bottom of the order came through for the Commmodores. Webster controlled the third set over No. 62 Daria Smetannikov, simultaneously clinching the match along with Stevens who notched a 7-2 tiebreak win over Lexington Reed.

“You have to be competitive in all nine spots; that has been a focus of ours the past few weeks,” Tsoubanos said. “We didn’t get them all, but everybody competed and everybody fought. We were in every match. This is just a testament to how hard they’ve been working and getting after it in practice. Again, this is a huge win for us and we’re looking forward to getting back out on the court.”

Ray and Webster each generated the highest-ranked singles wins of their careers. For Mohr, it is her highest since downing none other than No. 2 Stoiana in 2023. Texas A&M suffered defeats at all three of its top singles positions for the first time all season. Vanderbilt now moves to fourth in the SEC standings, pushing the Aggies down to third. The victory is the highest-ranked win for the Dores since downing No. 1 North Carolina in 2018.

No. 16 Vanderbilt (12-3, 5-2 SEC) moves on for another top-25 matchup against No. 11 Auburn (15-4, 4-3 SEC) on Friday. For more information, updates and exclusive game day content, follow the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team, @VandyWTennis, on Instagram and X.

No. 16 Vanderbilt 5, No. 2 Texas A&M 2

Doubles
1. No. 9 Mohr/Webster (Vanderbilt) vs. No. 31 Lucciana Perez/Stoiana (Texas A&M) 5-4, unfinished
2. No. 68 Kupres/Smetannikov (Texas A&M) def. Sonya Macavei/Stammel (Vanderbilt) 6-1
3. Khirin/Reed (Texas A&M) def. Ray/Trinetra Vijayakumar (Vanderbilt) 6-3

Singles
1. No. 44 Mohr (Vanderbilt) def. No. 3 Stoiana (Texas A&M) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
2. No. 119 Ray (Vanderbilt) def. No. 15 Khirin (Texas A&M) 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6)
3. No. 35 Stammel (Vanderbilt) def. No. 51 Kupres (Texas A&M) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
4. No. 57 Perez (Texas A&M) def. Vijayakumar (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3
5. Webster (Vanderbilt) def. No. 62 Smetannikov (Texas A&M) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-3
6. Stevens (Vanderbilt) def. Reed (Texas A&M) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2)

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (3,2,4,1,5,6)