The Commodore State

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After trailing 3-1 and enduring a six-hour-long match that saw multiple back-and-forth tiebreak match points on the final singles court, No. 13 Vanderbilt women’s tennis delivered in the clutch to bring home a 4-3 victory over No. 9 Tennessee on Senior Day.

“I am just so proud of the performance our team put together today on Senior Day against a great Tennessee team that I have so much respect for,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “It was one of those college tennis matches that, unfortunately, somebody had to come out on the short end of because both teams competed so well that it was going to end in heartbreak for one of them.”

Doubles went the way of the Volunteers early. Elza Tomase and Saray Yli-Piipari opened with a 6-1 win over sophomore Valeria Ray and junior Bridget Stammel. No. 14-ranked senior Célia-Belle Mohr and freshman Sophia Webster clawed back at the No. 1 position from a 3-0 deficit to even the score at 5-5. The Dore duo ran out of steam in the final two games, however, and No. 36 Catherine Aulia and Leyla Britez Risso clinched the doubles point for Tennessee.

Mohr generated a get-back for Vandy at No. 1 singles, taking down No. 6 Elza Tomase 6-3, 6-4. She avenged a 1-6, 7-5, 0-6 loss to Tomase at the ITA All-American Championships in September. Tennessee regained the lead behind a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 comeback over No. 48 Stammel at No. 3 singles. The Volunteers continued to control the momentum, moving ahead 3-1 after Francesca Mattioli fended off Webster 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

“You can always make things a little tougher on yourself when you start out down 1-0 going into the singles, but the response that we had coming out after that was exactly what you would hope for,” Tsoubanos said.

The response came through gritty, point-by-point play from multiple Commodores. No. 81 Ray got the ball rolling after downing No. 36 Catherine Aulia 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-3. It is the second-highest ranked win of the season for the sophomore. At 3-2, senior Amy Stevens cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Conley Raidt, extending her win streak to seven.

With the score all even at 3-3, Vanderbilt’s hopes rested on the shoulders of freshman Trinetra Vijayakumar at No. 5 singles; she had yet to have a clinch point for the Dores all season. And after falling in the first set 6-3 to Vanesa Suarez, it looked as though Tennessee had seized the momentum for good. The second set was inseparable between the two, going to a 3-3 tie midway through. Vijayakumar, though, used her backhand while capitalizing on two unforced errors from Suarez, rallying for a 6-4 set win and evening the match.

The spark continued for Vijayakumar, who eventually built a 5-3 lead to put Tennessee on the brink of a rivalry loss. Suarez fought back, creating lanes with her serve to chip away at the deficit. The Volunteer continued to make a late push and ultimately evened the match once more at 5-5. Vijayakumar did secure a 6-5 advantage, but could not put away Suarez who forced a winner-take-all third set tiebreaker. The lead changed multiple times in the tiebreaker, and it was Vijayakumar who snatched the upper hand 6-3. Suarez rattled off three straight points, but Vijayakumar once more took control 7-6. Again using her serve, Suarez flipped a switch to move ahead 8-7.

Both players continued to battle in what became a 9-9 draw. Facing Suarez’ serve once more, Vijayakumar adjusted and found her opening. The freshman captured the next two points, with the match winner being a sliding forehand shot down the sideline that Suarez returned into the net, to seal the win over Tennessee. It is the Dores’ first victory over the Volunteers since 2022.

“We got some big points put on the board by Célia, Valeria and Amy to set the table for Trinetra,” Tsoubanos said. “It’s also not often that both teams have match points to win it, let alone multiple, but I am really happy for Trinetra to come through as a freshman in such a huge moment. This is an extremely tough conference, so to find yourself with 11 SEC wins at the end of the regular season is no small feat. We’ll enjoy this one, and we look forward to heading down to Auburn for the postseason.”

No. 13 Vanderbilt moves on to the SEC Tournament hosted by Auburn. The Dores return to play on Thursday at 3 p.m. against the winner of No. 35 Alabama and No. 36 Florida. For more information, updates and exclusive game day content, follow the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team, @VandyWTennis, on Instagram and X.

No. 13 Vanderbilt 4, No. 9 Tennessee 3

Doubles
1. No. 36 Aulia/Britez Risso (Tennessee) def. No. 14 Mohr/Webster (Vanderbilt) 7-5
2. Tomase/Yli-Piipari (Tennessee) def. Ray/Stammel (Vanderbilt) 6-1
3. Sonya Macavei/Stevens (Vanderbilt) vs. Raidt/Maeve Thornton (Tennessee) 6-6, unfinished

Singles
1. No. 17 Mohr (Vanderbilt) def. No. 6 Tomase (Tennessee) 6-3, 6-4
2. No. 81 Ray (Vanderbilt) def. No. 36 Aulia (Tennessee) 6-7 (8), 6-0, 6-3
3. No. 87 Britez Risso (Tennessee) def. No. 48 Stammel (Vanderbilt) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Mattioli (Tennessee) def. Webster (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
5. Vijayakumar (Vanderbilt) def. Suarez (Tennessee) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9)
6. Stevens (Vanderbilt) def. Raidt (Tennessee) 6-0, 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,3,4,2,6,5)