NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With the No. 15 overall seed secured, Vanderbilt women’s tennis returns to play tomorrow against Xavier in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
It is the first time since 2019 Vandy has hosted the regional round of an NCAA Tournament, where the team went on to make the NCAA Championships. Outdoor matches will be held at Middle Tennessee’s Outdoor Tennis Complex, but in the event matches need to be played indoors due to weather, they will take place from Vanderbilt’s Lummis Tennis Center indoor courts. Harvard and UCLA make up the regional’s other match and are set to begin at 11 a.m. on Friday.
At a 19-6 finish, the Dores generated their most SEC wins, 11, since the 2017-18 season. Vanderbilt reached as high as No. 13 in the ITA team rankings and notched six top-25 victories this season, highlighted by a 5-2 takedown of defending champion No. 2 Texas A&M. After today’s ITA rankings release, senior Célia-Belle Mohr returns to the top-five at No. 5 in singles. Junior Bridget Stammel climbs to No. 54 and sophomore Valeria Ray reaches No. 70 to round out the Commodores in the singles rankings. Mohr and freshman Sophia Webster sit at No. 9 in doubles, matching their season-high ranking.
Vanderbilt enters its 30th consecutive NCAA Tournament, which includes 21 Sweet 16 appearances, eight Elite Eight appearances, six Final Four appearances, two national runner-up finishes and a national title in 2015. The Dores look to bounce back from a 4-2 loss to fourth-seeded Auburn at the SEC Tournament on April 18. Xavier enters Friday’s matchup unranked in the ITA team rankings: Vandy is 13-1 against teams ranked outside the top-25 this season. With outdoor matches to be played at Middle Tennessee, the black and gold return to the Blue Raiders’ complex after competing from Murfreesboro for the Ohio Valley Regional Championships in October. Stammel went on to win the event, which included a victory over Xavier’s Abigail Siminski 6-3, 6-1. Ray also netted a win over a Musketeer at Murfreesboro, downing Abby Nugent 6-2, 6-4.
Xavier comes off their fifth straight Big East Tournament title after barreling through the No. 7-seed Georgetown, No. 3-seed St. John’s, and No. 4-seed Villanova. The Musketeers won their tournament matches by a combined score of 12-1, dropping just one match to the Red Storm. The team comes into the NCAA Tournament victors of nine in a row, its longest win streak of the season. Nugent and Clara Owen represent the only Xavier players in the ITA rankings, coming in at No. 63 in this week’s doubles rankings.
Friday’s contest is just the second meeting between the two programs, both coming in the first round of an NCAA Regional. Vanderbilt swept Xavier 4-0 in 2022’s regional at Ohio State. The Dores have advanced to the Super Regional in two of the last three years.
15-seed Vanderbilt (19-6) hosts Xavier (14-8) with play set to begin at not before 2 p.m. Outdoor matches will be held at Middle Tennessee’s Outdoor Tennis Complex, but in the event matches need to be played indoors due to weather, they will take place from Vanderbilt’s Lummis Tennis Center indoor courts. Live streaming will be available online, with live stats accessible here at the start of the match. For more information, updates and exclusive game day content, follow the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team, @VandyWTennis, on Instagram and X. Fans can visit the NCAA Regional Central page online for additional details on the event.
