Vanderbilt Women’s Tennis ended its fall season on Thursday, as doubles pair Célia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster lost in the Round of 16 at the NCAA Doubles Championships. Four Commodores took the court at the NCAA Championships, as Mohr and Webster were joined by Bridget Stammel and Valeria Ray, both of whom competed in singles. These four qualifiers to the NCAA Championships were the most Vanderbilt has had in a single season since 2016. However, Vanderbilt’s singles competitors and doubles tandem failed to deliver a successful run.

Vanderbilt competed in five events over the past three months prior to the NCAA Championships. The Commodores opened their fall season at the ITA All-American Championships from September 21-28, and Mohr, Webster, Stammel and Ray all competed. The highlight of the tournament was the run by Mohr and Webster, which ended in a quarterfinal appearance for the pair. 

This was followed by the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships in October, in which eight Commodores took the court. Stammel delivered an excellent tournament, winning the singles title and punching her ticket to the NCAA Singles Championship. She also advanced to the quarterfinals of doubles play with Ray. 

The team returned to action a few weeks later at the June Stewart Invitational, in which Vanderbilt’s two doubles pairs performed exceptionally. Sonya Macavei and Trinetra Vijayakumar went 3-for-3 in matchplay, while the Amy Stevens-Jayden Jagolinzer duo went 2-for-3. First-year Jagolinzer also played well in singles, winning all three of her matches.

From November 7-10, Mohr and Webster competed in the ITA Conference Masters Championships while Stammel and Ray competed at the ITA Sectional Championships. The weekend was a success for the Commodores, as Mohr and Webster secured their ticket to the NCAA Doubles Championships and Ray earned a spot in the NCAA Singles Championships. 

The four Commodores traveled to Waco, Texas, to cash in their tournament bids. However, the payoff never came, and the Commodores struggled to gain momentum at the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. On the opening day of the tournament, Ray lost in straight sets to Stanford’s Alexis Blokhina. The Miami, Florida, native fell behind 0-4 in the first set which resulted in a 1-6 first set loss. In the second set, Blokhina denied any attempts at a comeback and defeated Ray 6-3 to take the match.

Stammel — Ray’s fellow Commodore in the singles draw — also suffered a straight set loss. Stammel and Virginia Tech’s Oslem Uslu went punch for punch through the first set, which was tied 6-6 before it moved into a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was neck-and-neck as well, until Uslu ultimately bested Stammel 9-7 to take the set. Uslu carried her momentum through the second set, which she won handily, 6-2, to advance past Stammel.

Mohr and Webster sought to deliver a stronger showing in their doubles match the following day after these tough results. Competing against Harvard’s Kavya Karra and Stephanie Yakoff, the Commodores earned Vanderbilt’s first victory of the tournament with a steady 6-4, 6-3 win. This was also a historic win for Webster, who became the first player in program history to win an NCAA Championships match as a first-year.

Mohr and Webster then faced North Carolina’s Susanna Maltby and Carson Tanguilig in the Round of 16, where the Commodores’ NCAA Championships run would end. Mohr and Webster were unable to stop the Tar Heels, as Maltby and Carson took the first set 6-3. The Tar Heel duo followed this up by winning four straight games en route to a 6-2 second-set victory.

Although this defeat marked the end of Vanderbilt’s fall season, the team has many opportunities to look forward to with the new look to the 2024-2025 season. In past years, the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships have been at the end of the spring, but this year, it marks the end of the fall season. 

“Ultimately, our focus is always going to be on the team season,” Tsoubanos said. “Individual success in the fall will only bolster the strength of the team and provide opportunities for players to contribute to our success in the dual season.”

The Commodores are expected to play again in early 2025 to open their spring season.