Stammel, Yamakita Share Singles Title

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Senior Bridget Stammel finished off a dominant run, freshman Mia Yamakita notched her second ranked collegiate win and both players earned NCAA qualification on Monday at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships hosted by Tennessee.

“What an outstanding effort from Bridget and our new addition, Mia,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “Bridget has played nearly flawless tennis these last few days; her court presence and determination to reach this final was among the best I’ve seen in her Vanderbilt career. And I’m speaking about someone who has won this tournament the last two years, so hats off to her for some really high-level tennis.” 

The singles semifinals saw No. 27 Stammel take on No. 57 Julia Zhu of Kentucky while Yamakita faced Tennessee’s No. 34 Leyla Britez Risso two courts away. For Stammel, it was business as usual. The senior began the match by breaking Zhu’s serve and did not drop a game for the remainder of the contest, shutting out her Wildcat counterpart 6-0, 6-0 to advance to her third consecutive regional singles final.

Yamakita, fresh off of downing No. 20 ranked Zoe Hammond of Kentucky, went head-to-head with another ranked opponent in Britez Risso, who eliminated No. 45 ranked junior Valeria Ray yesterday in three sets. The two were inseparable through the first few games, battling to a 3-3 draw in the opening set. Yamakita looked to have taken control after grabbing a 5-3 lead with a set win just points away. Britez Risso proceeded to rattle off three straight game points, shifting the momentum and moving ahead 6-5. Yamakita then forced a tiebreaker at 6-6 with the first set hanging in the balance. After dropping the opening point in the final frame, the freshman locked down Britez Risso. She scored six of the next seven points, ultimately pulling away 7-6 (2) to secure the first set.

From there, the match was all Yamakita. The Commodore used her serve to generate a 6-1 win in the next set en route to her second straight ranked victory. Yamakita is the first freshman to win their first two career ranked matches since none other than Stammel in 2023. With a singles final that would have been teammate versus teammate, Stammel and Yamakita agreed to share the singles title as co-champions. It marks the first time in Ohio Valley Regional history that a player has won or shared the singles title three times: Stammel accomplished the feat in consecutive seasons. The result gives each Dore a berth into the NCAA Singles Championship taking place November 18-23 in Orlando.

“Mia completed beautifully these last few days and worked through some really tough spots in her matches against Yan, Hammond, and today with Britez Rizzo,” Tsoubanos said. “She is improving by the match and I’m excited for the opportunity her and Bridget have earned to now play in the NCAA singles tournament in Orlando next month.”

The No. 12 duo of graduate Célia-Belle Mohr and sophomore Sophia Webster followed with a semifinal matchup against more Tennessee opponents, Francesca Mattioli and Maeve Thornton. The Volunteers pulled out a 7-6 (2) first set and seemed to be on pace for a resounding win after going up 2-0 in the second. Mohr and Webster regained composure, taking the next four games and eventually evening the match 6-4. In the 10-point third set tiebreaker, Vandy jumped out to a 1-0 lead and never trailed. The duo brought home the victory 10-6 to advance to the doubles final.

“Célia and Sophia are playing some very good doubles, but they were certainly tested today against Tennessee,” Tsoubanos said. “Fortunately, they were able to turn that second set around and then came up big in some key moments in the tiebreaker to close it out. When they play their game style and execute, they’re really tough to beat. Tomorrow is another big opportunity and they’ll be ready to go.”