NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 12 Vanderbilt women’s tennis returns home to face the Rebels of Ole Miss on Thursday at the Lummis Family Tennis Center as the Commodores aim to push their win streak to five.
Vanderbilt (15-4, 5-2 SEC) rolls into Thursday a winner of four straight matches, a stretch that began with the 4-2 defeat of No. 1 Georgia on March 6. The Dores notched road wins against Mississippi State and Alabama over the weekend. Freshman Mia Yamakita brought home SEC Freshman of the Week honors after going 4-0 across singles and doubles in the two contests. Along with partner freshman Erin Pearce, Yamakita secured the doubles point in both of Vanderbilt’s matches. She then went on to deliver the clinch point against the Crimson Tide on Sunday. It is the fourth total SEC weekly honor for the Commodores this season, and is the first time in program history Vandy has had back-to-back Freshman of the Week award winners after Pearce did so on March 11.
The Commodores moved up four spots to No. 12 in the most recent ITA team rankings. Individually, graduate Célia-Belle Mohr and sophomore Sophia Webster lead the team in the doubles rankings at No. 3. The pair own eight of the 12 total ranked doubles wins for Vanderbilt. Junior Valeria Ray and senior Bridget Stammel round out the black and gold at No. 25 in doubles. Mohr also tops the Dores in singles at No. 17, followed by Ray at No. 25, Stammel at No. 33, and freshman Mia Yamakita at No. 93. Each of Vanderbilt’s ranked singles players have produced 20 or more total singles victories; Stammel leads the team with 25.
Vandy has only suffered five total defeats to Ole Miss (7-6, 2-5 SEC) in the all-time series, and enters Thursday on a six match win streak over the Rebels. Ole Miss has not won in Nashville since 2013. The Rebels come to town after downing Arkansas 6-1 on Sunday. The win ended a five match skid, all of which came against top-25 teams. Ole Miss is 1-6 against ranked opponents this season, with its lone win coming on Feb. 22 versus No. 4 LSU. Emily Welker is the only Rebel in the singles rankings at No. 15; she faced Ray twice in fall season play. Welker and partner Andrea Nova come in at No. 23 in the doubles rankings.
First serve between No. 12 Vanderbilt and Ole Miss is set for 4:30 p.m. at the Lummis Family Tennis Center. For more information, updates and exclusive match day content, follow the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team, @VandyWTennis, on Instagram and X.
