NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 19 Vanderbilt women’s tennis returns to Ann Arbor, Michigan for the second consecutive year as the Dores eye a run at ITA Kickoff Weekend, first matching up against Notre Dame tomorrow.
ITA Kickoff Weekend serves as the qualifying pathway to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, featuring 56 teams from across the country competing at 14 different host sites. Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Penn and No. 7 Michigan make up the four teams competing in Ann Arbor. The winner of two matches in a bracket-style setup earns a qualifying spot at the indoor championship event, which takes place Feb. 6-10 in Evanston and Champaign, Illinois. Vandy looks to advance to the second match of the weekend after falling to UC Santa Barbara in Ann Arbor last season.
Host teams at each site are selected based on last season’s ITA year-end ranking; the 14 hosts are the 14 best ranked teams in the country from the previous year. Remaining teams are entered into a selection draft that also follows ITA year-end rankings, with the No. 15 ranked team getting the first pick in the draft, and subsequent picks following the rankings until each host site has four total teams.
Vanderbilt (2-0) takes to the road for the first time after opening the season with two 7-0 sweeps over Western Kentucky and Belmont. The black and gold are set to face Notre Dame (2-0), and the team that advances will face the winner of Michigan and Penn. The Fighting Irish netted a win in the last meeting between the two programs, a 5-2 result on Feb. 5, 2012. Overall, Vandy holds an 8-4 record in the all-time series. While the Commodores have not played Notre Dame in the Aleke Tsoubanos era, Tsoubanos does have a perfect 2-0 record against the Irish after picking up dual match wins as a player in 2002 and 2003.
Notre Dame enters Saturday with 7-0 victories over Western Michigan and Duquesne. The Fighting Irish last notched a win over a top-25 opponent on April 12, 2024 after taking down No. 21 Duke 4-2; they are 0-8 against top-25 teams since then. Bianca Molar is the lone singles player for Notre Dame in the ITA individual rankings at No. 58. Molar and Bojana Pozder sit at a No. 21 ranking in doubles.
First serve is expected at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) from the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor. Streaming will be available online with live stats accessible here. For more information, updates and exclusive game day content, follow the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team, @VandyWTennis, on Instagram and X.
