NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt women’s tennis extended its winning streak to six with a 6-1 takedown of Missouri in the Commodores’ SEC opener from the Lummis Family Tennis Center on Sunday.
“It was a great team win for us to start off the SEC season today at home,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “I commend Missouri, I thought they actually competed really well, even in spots where maybe the score did not indicate that. They are an improved team from a year ago, and I give them credit for keeping themselves in some matches and fighting until the end.”
The black and gold began the match by claiming their seventh straight doubles point. The No. 10 ranked duo of junior Valeria Ray and senior Bridget Stammel continued rolling en route to their ninth win in a row, the longest streak on the team across singles or doubles. Freshman Erin Pearce again was off to the races in singles play, generating a flawless 6-0, 6-0 victory over Zoe Lazar. After two back-and-forth matches against Xavier and Lipscomb opponents, No. 15 Ray bounced back and left no doubt in a 6-2, 6-0 defeat of Alex Ackman. No. 34 ranked graduate Célia-Belle Mohr and No. 42 Stammel put more points on the board for Vandy with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 singles, respectively. Sophomore Sophia Webster finished things off for the Commodores at the No. 6 position, sinking Lara Quaglia 6-2, 6-4. At 6-0, Webster is the only unbeaten Dore in singles with at least five appearances in dual matches.
“I thought we played a very good doubles point again, and that certainly sets the tone heading into the singles,” Tsoubanos said. “We got off to some quick starts on a few courts there, and were able to maintain those leads to close out four points for a team victory. We’ll have a great week of practice coming up, and we look forward to the Texas A&M and Texas matches this weekend. Obviously, we played both of those teams just a few weeks ago, and I think we learned some valuable lessons. So we’re excited about the opportunity that presents itself this weekend. We had great support this afternoon and hope for fans to be back here with us on Friday.”
Alumni weekend is up next for Vanderbilt, highlighted by rematches with No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 10 Texas. For more information, updates and exclusive match day content, follow the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team, @VandyWTennis, on Instagram and X.
No. 28 Vanderbilt 6, Missouri 1
Doubles
1. No. 2 Mohr/Webster [Vanderbilt] vs. Ackman/Korina Roso [Missouri] 5-3, unfinished
2. No. 10 Ray/Stammel [Vanderbilt] def. Lazar/Quaglia [Missouri] 6-4
3. Pearce/Mia Yamakita [Vanderbilt] def. Andrea Artimedi/Gian Octa [Missouri] 6-2
Singles
1. No. 34 Mohr [Vanderbilt] def. Roso [Missouri] 7-6 (5), 6-3
2. No. 15 Ray [Vanderbilt] def. Ackman [Missouri] 6-2, 6-0
3. No. 42 Stammel def. Octa [Missouri] 6-3, 6-2
4. Artimedi [Missouri] def. Trinetra Vijayakumar [Vanderbilt] 7-6 (3), 0-6, 12-10
5. Pearce [Vanderbilt] def. Lazar [Missouri] 6-0, 6-0
6. Webster [Vanderbilt] def. Quaglia [Missouri] 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,2,3,1,4,6)
