After starting the season 2-0, No. 19 Vanderbilt Women’s Tennis traveled to Ann Arbor to play at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, where 56 teams across 14 home sites competed to punch a ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Commodores looked to better last season’s results, as a first-match defeat to UC Santa Barbara sent them to the consolation match in the 2025 ITA Kickoff Weekend. With brackets set up according to last season’s ITA year-end rankings, the Commodores entered a bracket composed of host team No. 7 Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn.

Notre Dame  

Needing to win two matches to advance, Vanderbilt opened the weekend against Notre Dame. Across the court, the Fighting Irish were looking for their first defeat of a top-25 opponent since 2024. 

Vanderbilt launched forward to an early lead in doubles, securing the first point of the match handily. The Commodores’ top pairing, No. 2-ranked duo of Célia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster, delivered the first blow with a 6-1 victory over No. 21 Bianca Molnar and Bojana Pozder. No. 13 Valeria Ray and Bridget Stammel followed shortly afterward with a 6-2 win over Akari Matsuno and Jessica Kovalcik. Vanderbilt’s freshmen duo of Mia Yamakita and Erin Pearce were knotted up at 4-4 when the Commodores secured the doubles point.

Notre Dame attempted to mount a comeback in singles play, jetting out to two quick first set wins, as No. 58 Molnar pushed No. 4 Mohr into a rare first set loss and Notre Dame’s Rylie Hanford secured the early lead against Trinetra Vijayakumar. However, the Commodores refused to fade away, with the Vanderbilt freshmen providing the much-needed momentum. No. 36 Yamakita handed the Fighting Irish’s Sophia Holod a 6-2, 6-3 defeat, and Pearce put Vanderbilt within one point of a match victory with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Mari-Louise Van Zyl. No. 33 Stammel delivered the clinching point for the Commodores with a 7-5, 6-2 triumph over Pozder

“Our freshmen, Mia [Yamakita] and Erin [Pearce], did an awesome job jumping out to early leads and putting those matches away for us to sneak to 3 points,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “I was really happy to see Bridget work through the first and find her footing there in that second set to seal the match for us.”

Michigan

After overcoming Notre Dame, Vanderbilt needed an upset victory over No. 7 Michigan to secure its ITA Championships spot. The Commodores faced a perennial ITA contender in the Wolverines, who had earned 14 qualifications for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships over the past 17 seasons and owned a 44-1 home record over the last three seasons.

To turn the tide on Michigan’s fortunes, the Commodores looked to capitalize on their advantage in doubles team rankings, and once again, the Vanderbilt freshmen delivered. No. 46 Yamakita and Pearce impressed with a 6-1 rout of Reese Miller and Emily Sartz-Lunde, seconded by No. 13 Ray and Stammel, earning a 6-3 victory over Piper Charney and Gabriella Lindgren.

With the doubles point propelling the Commodores to an early lead, Vanderbilt needed to win three of six singles matches to advance. Stammel put the Commodores up 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over No. 85 Jessica Bernales, but the Wolverines quickly answered with No. 80 Miller besting No. 36 Yamakita, 6-1, 6-2. To put the Commodores within a point of match victory, Mohr captured a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 32 Lily Jones. However, the Wolverines mounted resistance with Lindgren collecting a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Pearce to lessen Vanderbilt’s lead to 3-2.

While Vijayakumar played Sartz-Lunde, No. 17 Ray battled against No. 3 Charney. Both Commodores refused to be denied, each having simultaneous match point chances to send Vanderbilt to the Championships. Ultimately, Ray secured the Commodores’ victory, bouncing back from a first-set defeat to earn the highest-ranked victory of her career with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 over Charney.

“They all did an incredible job of embracing a big moment,” Tsoubanos said. “In college tennis, we win and lose as a team, and today it was a complete team effort.”

Vanderbilt is back in action on Sunday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. CST at home against Northwestern. The Commodores will then travel to Evanston and Champaign, Illinois, for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, beginning February 6.