SEATTLE, Wash. – The No. 9 Vanderbilt women’s tennis team fought until the final set but ultimately fell to Washington 4-3 in its first consolation match at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Even with an hour delay, the Dores came ready to play. Celia-Belle Mohr and Anessa Lee won their doubles match and set the team up to clinch the doubles point. On court one, Anna Ross and Holly Staff solidified the advantage with their 7-5 victory.
In singles, Ross kept her momentum going and won her match. Lee continued her season consistency, extending her singles win streak to 10 and putting Vandy within one point of victory. The Huskies fought to tie the match which shifted the attention to court one. Mohr battled through three sets but came up short in the tiebreaker.
“Just a tough performance today that we found ourselves on the short end of. We played a better doubles points and put ourselves in a position to grab three points in singles and couldn’t quite get there,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “I’m proud of the fight of the team. We’ve been in two third-set tiebreakers and are gaining experience of what these duals are like. As a team, we have to be resilient and start to capitalize on early leads with some better discipline and decision making.”
Singles
Hikaru Sato def. No. 34 Celia-Belle Mohr 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-6)
No. 66 Anna Ross def. Sarah-Maude Fortin 6-2, 6-3
Astrid Olsen def. No. 85 Holly Staff 6-1, 6-4
Jennifer Kerr def. No. 27 Bridget Stammel 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
Anessa Lee def. Melissa Sakar 6-4, 6-4
Erika Matsuda def. Amy Stevens 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
Anna Ross/Holly Staff def. Astrid Olsen/Erika Matsuda 7-5
Bridget Stammel/Marcella Cruz vs. Hikaru Sato/Zehra Suko 6-6 unfinished
Celia-Belle Mohr/Anessa Lee def. Sarah-Maude Fortin/Jennifer Kerr 6-4
Vanderbilt will play its final match in Seattle against Stanford at 5:30 p.m. CT on Sunday.
