TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The No. 16 ranked Vanderbilt women’s tennis team wrapped up a two-match road stint with a 4-3 win over Alabama at the Alabama Tennis Stadium on Sunday.
Vanderbilt (15-4, 5-2 SEC) rebounded in doubles after dropping the early point against Mississippi State on Friday. The No. 16 pairing of junior Valeria Ray and senior Bridget Stammel got back in the win column with a 6-0 sweep of Karla Bartel and Kristina Paskauskas. Alabama (11-4, 3-4 SEC) evened the score after taking the match at No. 3 doubles. It was again down to the freshmen duo of No. 88 Erin Pearce and Mia Yamakita, as the Dores went back and forth at Court 2 versus Addison Bowman and Amina Salibayeva. Pearce and Yamakita once more delivered for Vandy, coming out with a 6-3 win to put the Commodores up 1-0.
The black and gold maintained control of the contest to begin singles play despite windy conditions affecting both sides. Both No. 42 Stammel and sophomore Sophia Webster raced out to first set leads, with No. 85 Yamakita eventually following suite at No. 4 singles. Stammel was the first to notch a singles victory as the senior picked up a 6-1, 6-3 ranked win over No. 62 Paskauskas. Webster put Vanderbilt’s third point on the board with a 6-1, 6-1 takedown of Mary Sidelynk.
Alabama began to claw its way back into the match after staring down a 3-0 deficit. The Crimson Tide pieced together wins at Courts 2, 3 and 5 to bring the score all even at 3-3. Yamakita again was the last remaining Commodore, facing Bowman at No. 4 singles. After Yamakita grabbed a 7-5 opening set victory, Bowman began to respond with her back against the wall. The two went to a second set tiebreaker, in which Bowman shut out Yamakita 7-0 to force a third frame.
In the final set of the deciding match, Yamakita slowly took control over her Crimson Tide counterpart. The freshman proceeded to clinch the match win for the Dores, claiming the third 6-3. It was her second straight clinch after sealing the fourth point versus Mississippi State. Yamakita’s victory brought Vanderbilt’s win streak to four and moved the black and gold to 2-0 in road conference matchups so far.
Vanderbilt returns home on Thursday for an afternoon battle with Ole Miss (7-6, 2-5 SEC) at the Lummis Family Tennis Center. For more information, updates and exclusive match day content, follow the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team, @VandyWTennis, on Instagram and X.
No. 16 Vanderbilt 4, No. 33 Alabama 3
Doubles
1. No. 16 Ray/Stammel [Vanderbilt] def. Paskauskas/Bartel [Alabama] 6-0
2. No. 88 Yamakita/Pearce [Vanderbilt] def. Salibayeva/Bowman [Alabama] 6-3
3. Sidelynk/Klara Millicevic [Alabama] def. Trinetra Vijayakumar/Webster [Vanderbilt] 6-2
Singles
1. No. 42 Stammel [Vanderbilt] def. No. 62 Paskauskas [Alabama] 6-1, 6-3
2. Millicevic [Alabama] def. No. 21 Ray [Vanderbilt] 6-4, 6-4
3. Bartel [Alabama] def. Vijayakumar [Vanderbilt] 6-3, 6-2
4. No. 85 Yamakita [Vanderbilt] def. Bowman [Alabama] 7-5, 6-7 (0), 6-3
5. Salibayeva [Alabama] def. Pearce [Vanderbilt] 7-6 (13), 6-4
6. Webster [Vanderbilt] def. Sidelynk [Alabama] 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,6,3,2,5,4)
