Women’s Tennis: Vanderbilt struggles to find footing in SEC play after losing to South Carolina

Vanderbilt Women’s Tennis proves dominant in doubles but gets swept up in singles play against South Carolina, falling to 2-4.

Narenkumar Thirmiya

Vanderbilt women’s tennis player faces off against UCF, as photographed on Feb. 17, 2023. (Hustler Multimedia/Narenkumar Thirmiya)

By Grace Hall, Staff Writer

Mar 21, 2023

The No. 23 Commodores Women’s Tennis team made a trip to the Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center in Columbia, South Carolina to face off against the No. 34 South Carolina Gamecocks on March 19. South Carolina, despite being ranked lower, boasted a better SEC record going into the match (2-2) than the Commodores (2-3). In the end, the Gamecocks came out on top 4-1, extending the Commodores losing streak to four in a row.

The day started with the doubles round. The duo of Celia-Belle Mohr and Marcella Cruz secured the first win for the Commodores with a 6-3 victory. On Court 3, Lee and Stammel were able to battle back from a 4-1 deficit to secure the win with a score of 7-5 and the Commodores’ doubles point.

Although Vanderbilt had the upper hand going into singles play, the Gamecocks battled back. Three of the first sets in singles play went into a tie break, and three of the five matches went to three sets. However, Vanderbilt was unable to secure a singles win as South Carolina won the match.

The final results for the match between the Commodores and the Gamecocks were as follows.

Singles:

No.7 Ayana Akli (South Carolina) def. No.48 Celia-Belle Mohr (Vanderbilt) 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-5

No. 14 Sarah Hamner (South Carolina) def. No.80 Anna Ross (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 6-4

Gracie Mulville (South Carolina) def. No. 60 Bridget Stammel (Vanderbilt) 6-7 (2-7), 6-1, 6-2

No 111. Holly Staff (Vanderbilt) vs. Misa Malin (South Carolina) 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 2-4 – unfinished

Elise Mills (South Carolina) def. No. 113 Anessa Lee (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)

Amy Stevens (Vanderbilt) vs. McKenna Schaefbauer 5-7, 7-5, 3-4 – unfinished

Doubles:

Ross/Staff (Vanderbilt) vs. Akli/Gretkowski (South Carolina) 6-6 (5-4) – unfinished

Mohr/Cruz (Vanderbilt) def. Hamner/Mulville (South Carolina) 6-3

Lee/Stammel (Vanderbilt) def. Malkin/Mills (South Carolina) 7-5

Up Next:

The Commodores will look to break their four-match losing streak as they head into another busy weekend of SEC play, facing off against Arkansas on Friday, March 24 before a quick turnaround to face Missouri on Sunday, March 26.

About the Contributors

Grace Hall, Deputy Sports Editor

Grace Hall (‘26) is from Belfast, Maine, and is majoring in public policy studies with a minor in legal studies in the College of Arts and Science. Grace previously served as the Assistant Sports Specialist for Revenue Sports. She is also president of the Vanderbilt Club Field Hockey team and the Vanderbilt Sports and Society Club. When not writing for the Hustler, you can find her watching the Boston Red Sox or Celtics or at a concert. You can reach her at [email protected].

Narenkumar Thirmiya, Staff Photographer

Narenkumar Thirmiya ('24) is from Orlando, Fla., and is majoring in neuroscience and medicine, health, and society in the College of Arts and Science. When not shooting for The Hustler, he is streaming TV, playing the piano or guitar or exploring nature photography. You can reach him at [email protected].

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