The Vanderbilt Women’s Tennis team competed at the annual June Stewart Invitational this weekend, facing Clemson, Kentucky, Lipscomb, Northwestern, Ole Miss and Purdue.
Friday Results, Singles:
The Commodores began Friday’s singles play with a pair of losses to Clemson. Amy Stevens jumped out to an early lead after winning her first set against Gaia Parravicini 6-3. Parravicini battled back, though, winning the next set 7-5. Stevens proved no match for Parravicini in the ensuing tiebreaker, as the Italian Commodore cruised to a 10-5 victory. Sonya Macavei had a similar outing against Clemson’s Annabelle Davis. Despite dropping the first set 3-6, the junior forced a tiebreaker after a 6-3 win in the second set. However, Davis outdueled Macavei en route to a 10-5 victory in the final frame.
The next two matches saw more of the same. Trinetra Vijayakumar overcame a 1-6 first-set loss to Clemson’s Romana Cisovska, winning 6-3 in the second set to force yet another tiebreaker. Nevertheless, Cisovska did not back down, capturing victory after a 10-6 win in the deciding frame. Sophia Webster’s match suffered the same result, as the first-year lost a gritty 4-6, 7-5, 7-10 contest to Candela Yecora of Clemson.
The Commodores’ lone singles win of the day came at the hands of Jayden Jagolinzer, who won a close 7-5, 7-5 battle against Northwestern’s Autumn Rabjohns.
Friday Results, Doubles:
Despite disappointing singles results, the Commodores commanded Friday’s doubles slate. The Macavei-Vijayakumar tandem dominated Kentucky’s Elizabeth Edes and Ellie Myers for a convincing 6-0 win. Stevens and Jagolinzer rode this wave to best Northwestern’s duo of Neena Feldman and Autumn Rabjohns 7-5.
Saturday Results, Singles:
Vanderbilt greatly improved its singles’ performance on Saturday. Macavei began the morning with a dominant 6-3, 6-2 win over Ashlie Wilson of Purdue. Webster doubled down on the Ohio native’s success, cruising to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Wilson’s sister, Kathryn. Vijayakumar did not disappoint in the ensuing match, picking apart Purdue’s Tara Milic to win a 6-0, 1-6, 10-6 outing convincingly. In the most tumultuous match of the day, Jagolinzer emerged victorious, hanging on in a neck-and-neck tiebreaker to beat Purdue’s Ellie Morrow 7-5, 5-7, 10-7.
The Commodores could not complete a sweep in Saturday’s singles play, as Stevens fell to Ole Miss’ Andrea Nova in a 6-1, 1-6, 3-10 bout.
Saturday Results, Doubles:
The Commodores continued their strong doubles performance on Saturday. The Macavei-Vijayakumar duo faced a fierce challenge against Purdue’s Milic and Wilson. In a tightly contested set, the Vanderbilt pair managed to edge out their opponents, securing a 7-6(5) victory in a tiebreaker. Stevens and Jagolinzer kept the momentum going to deliver a solid 6-3 win over Clemson’s Parravicini and Davis.
Sunday Results, Singles:
Vanderbilt started the third day with a series of hard-fought singles matches. Vijayakumar set the tone with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Kentucky’s Myers in a close first set before pulling ahead. Her fellow first-year Jogalinzer also delivered for the Commodores, extending her unbeaten streak with a 6-1, 6-1 win against the Wildcats’ Tess Bucher. Stevens added to Vanderbilt’s showing next, picking up her first victory of the weekend with a 7-5, 6-1 triumph over Kentucky’s Elizabeth Eades.
Webster and Macavei had the most competitive matches of the day. In a battle against Ole Miss’ Brooklyn Olson, Webster pushed the match to a third-set tiebreaker but ultimately fell in a tight 7-5, 2-6, 11-9 contest. Macavei followed suit, falling to Ole Miss opponent Nova, 6-3, 5-7, 10-8, in another third-set tiebreaker.
Sunday Results, Doubles:
Vanderbilt wrapped up the invitational by going one-for-one in doubles play. The Macavei-Vijayakumar tandem pulled off a win over Lipscomb’s Bobrovnikova/Paladi, securing a 7-6(6) victory in a tiebreaker. However, this success didn’t extend to the following match, as the Vanderbilt duo of Stevens and Jagolinzer fell 6-3 in a challenging matchup against Purdue’s Milic-Wilson. This was Jagolinzer’s first loss of the competition.
Up Next:
The Commodores are back on the court for the ITA Sectional Championships, running from Nov. 7-10 in Athens, Georgia.
