BATON ROUGE, La. — Vanderbilt women’s tennis added another Dore to its list of NCAA qualifiers after junior Valeria Ray punched her ticket in a singles playoff on Sunday at the ITA Sectional Championships hosted by LSU.
No. 45 Ray faced No. 34 Leyla Britez Risso of Tennessee in a rematch of the Ohio Valley Regional singles quarterfinals, in which Britez Risso eliminated Ray 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. On Sunday, Ray got her revenge. The Commodore pulled away from the start of the match and never let go of the momentum, cruising to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Britez Risso, eliminating the Volunteer from NCAA contention. The result secures a qualifying spot for Ray, marking the second straight season she has earned a berth into the NCAA Singles Championship.
The Dores’ No. 37 ranked pair of Ray and senior Bridget Stammel fell just short in doubles play against Mississippi State’s Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz and Gianna Oboniye. After a 6-4 first set win for Vandy, the Bulldogs responded 7-6 (7) in the second with their backs against the wall. In the third set tiebreaker, Ray and Stammel were unable to regain control, falling 10-5.
Vanderbilt will send five total to the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida Nov. 18-23. Ray joins No. 27 Stammel and freshman Mia Yamakita in singles. In doubles, the No. 12 ranked pair of graduate Célia-Belle Mohr and sophomore Sophia Webster are the lone duo competing for the Dores. It marks the most players Vanderbilt has sent to the NCAA Championships in program history.
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Day 4 Results:
SINGLES
No. 45 Ray (Vanderbilt) def. No. 34 Britez Risso (Tennessee) 6-1, 6-3
DOUBLES
Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz/Gianna Oboniye (Mississippi State) def. No. 37 Ray/Stammel (Vanderbilt) 4-6, 7-6 (7), 10-5
