CARY, N.C. – The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team’s pairing of Anna Ross and Holly Staff earned a win in the ITA All-American Championships Round of 32 on Wednesday.
The Ross/Staff pairing, ranked No. 7 in the ITA Preseason poll, fought its way to a dramatic win over NC State’s Abigail Rencheli and Sophie Abrams. After dropping the first set, 3-6, the duo secured a 6-4 win in the second to force a 10-points super tiebreaker. The NC State team took the first five points before a comeback from Ross/Staff gave Vandy a 10-8 win to take the match.
“I’m really proud of the girls for coming through today versus a very tough NC State team,” Vanderbilt assistant coach Hayley Carter said. “After dropping the first set, they raised their levels and made some key adjustments to turn around the match. We look forward to the opportunity to compete another day and build on this momentum in their next round.”
Ross and Staff will face Virginia’s No. 26 Natasha Subhash and Elaine Chervinsky on Thursday in the Round of 16.
In Vanderbilt’s other action on the day, Celia-Belle Mohr’s magical run in singles came to an end with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat at the hands of LSU’s Kylie Collins in the Round of 32. Mohr had won six matches in four days before Wednesday’s match.
“What an impressive tournament for Celia-Belle against the nation’s best players,” Vanderbilt head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “She competed brilliantly and was the only player to advance in singles from the prequalifying all the way to the main draw this year. I think the physical toll of so many matches finally showed today. Congratulations to Kylie Collins who played a fantastic match this morning. I’m excited to see CB continue to grow and compete more this fall.”
Doubles – Main
Anna Ross/Holly Staff (Vanderbilt) def. Abigail Rencheli/Sophie Abrams (NC State), 3-6, 6-4, 10-8
Singles – Main
Kylie Collins (LSU) def. Celia-Belle Mohr (Vanderbilt), 6-3, 6-2
