Vanderbilt Women’s Tennis opened its fall season at the ITA All-American Championships this past week. In singles, No. 3 Célia-Belle Mohr and No. 34 Bridget Stammel opened play in the main draw, while sophomore Valeria Ray advanced from the pre-qualifying round to the qualifying draw. In doubles, the No. 64-ranked duo of Stammel and Ray, along with the No. 29-ranked pair of Mohr and first-year Sophia Webster, began play in the qualifying round.

Overall, the Commodores delivered solid performances against tough competition during the tournament, with the high point of the week coming when Mohr and Webster made it to the quarterfinals. The Commodores were less successful in singles, as no player advanced past the round of 32. Although these results may not have lived up to the Commodores’ lofty expectations, head coach Aleke Tsoubanos spoke to the grueling nature of the tournament and the improvement she saw from her team.

“Certainly, we were hoping to punch some tickets this week,” Tsoubanos said. “But this is an incredibly tough tournament with a significant demand physically and mentally to be playing on the final few days. I do think, in general, we made some good steps forward and have seen some nice development from the returners.”

Singles

Vanderbilt had four athletes — Amy Stevens, Sonya Macavei, Webster and Ray — compete in the prequalifying draw of the tournament. Macavei opened her fall season with a loss, but the three other Commodores notched early victories, including Webster’s first collegiate win in a three-set 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4 comeback. Despite these early victories, only Ray would win a second match.

After picking up her first win of the tournament in a straight-set victory, Ray dominated her second match, winning again in just two sets, 6-1 and 6-2. A third victory over Iowa State’s Anna Supapitch Kuearum — also in straight sets, 6-3 and 7-6(2) — propelled Ray to the qualifying round.

In the opening round of qualifying singles, Ray failed to collect a fourth consecutive win, falling just short to Florida State’s Maria Juliana Parra Romero, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The loss eliminated Ray from the singles tournament.

Mohr and Stammel began singles play on Wednesday in the main draw of the tournament. Mohr took an opening-round victory with a strong 6-4, 6-2 performance against No. 27 Cristina Tiglea of Baylor. Stammel followed with a win against Duke’s No. 41 Emma Jackson after breaking away in a close first set and ultimately taking the match with a 7-5, 6-3 score.

However, this success was not seen in the second round, as both Mohr and Stammel suffered defeats in the round of 32. Mohr competed against No. 62 Elza Tomase of Tennessee and fell behind early as Tomase took the first set 6-1 on a rain-slicked court. Mohr then battled back to take the second set, 7-5, but Tomase returned in full force with a dominant 6-1 third set to take the victory. Stammel faced stiff competition in her match when she played against Pepperdine’s No. 8 Savannah Broadus. Broadus won the first set easily 6-2, before play was paused due to weather. Coming out of the delay, Broadus picked up right where she left off and collected the second set 6-3 to take the match.

Doubles

Vanderbilt opened doubles play on Monday in the first round of the qualifying draw. Mohr and Webster faced Virginia Tech’s Semra Aksu and Ozlem Uslu, where they defeated the Hokies in a dominant straight-set victory, 6-3, 6-1. Vanderbilt’s second doubles team, Stammel and Ray, dealt with a touch more adversity against Florida’s Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee but still handily won in a 6-2, 7-5 match.

On Tuesday, Mohr and Webster picked up another win in a thrilling three-set match against UCLA’s Olivia Center and Kate Fakih. This match was especially challenging for Webster because her mother, Stella Sampras Webster, is UCLA’s head coach.

“Playing a team like UCLA is always difficult because it hits really close to home; I feel like it is a special part of me,” Webster said. “With my mom being the coach, I know she wants what’s best for me but also has a job to do.”
Despite falling down 8-6 in a third-set 10-point tiebreak, Webster and Mohr maintained their composure, securing the win and advancing to the main draw.
Ray and Stammel did not have the same success in their match against No. 28-ranked Ahmani Guichard and Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer of UCLA. Vanderbilt’s pair lost 6-4 and 6-3, ending their run in the doubles tournament.
“[Stammel and Ray] were right there the entire match,” Tsoubanos said. “UCLA just executed on some big points, both from the backcourt and at [the] net. The two are developing nicely as a doubles pairing and will have more opportunities this fall.”
Mohr and Webster competed against their toughest opponent yet in their first main draw matchup against No. 13 Margaret ‘Meggie’ Navarro and Sara Ziodato of Virginia. After a tight 7-5 first-set victory, Mohr and Webster took control of the match and won the second set — and the match — 6-2.
In the round of 16, the duo faced even stiffer competition against TCU’s No. 12 Jade Otway and Isabel Pascual. The first set was close, with TCU going up 5-4 at one point, but the Commodores prevailed to take the set, 7-5. After dropping the second set, Mohr and Webster outlasted Otway and Pascual in the third-set tiebreak, 10-7, to advance to the doubles quarterfinals.
On Friday, Mohr and Webster’s run ended when they fell to No. 16 Jessica Alsola and Moa Mushika of the University of California, Berkeley in a straight-set defeat. After falling in the first set, Mohr and Webster took an early lead 2-1 in the second set, but they could not secure another game, losing 6-2.
“In her first collegiate tennis event, I thought Sophia [Webster] did a nice job, and it was awesome to see her and Célia [Mohr] do well together in doubles,” Tsoubanos said.
The Vanderbilt Commodores will return to the court on Oct. 11 at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.