No. 12 Vanderbilt Women’s Tennis continued its SEC season with matches against Ole Miss and No. 11 LSU on March 19 and March 21, respectively. The Commodores beat the Rebels 5-2 at Vanderbilt’s Lummis Family Tennis Center, extending their win streak to five. However, the run was quickly halted in Baton Rouge, where the ’Dores came up short against the Tigers, losing 2-5. Head coach Aleke Tsoubanos’ squad now holds a record of 16-5, with a 6-3 mark in the SEC.
Ole Miss
Ole Miss came out of the gate firing, as Brooklyn Olsen and Beatrice Stagno defeated Sophia Webster and Sonya Macavei, 6-2. Following the loss, the Black and Gold needed both other doubles teams to come away with victories in hopes of winning the doubles point. The freshman pairing of Erin Pearce and Mia Yamakita got it done for the ’Dores, routing Riley Crowder and Alice Soulie, 6-2.
Vanderbilt’s No. 25 nationally ranked duo of Valeria Ray and Bridget Stammel took down No. 23 Andrea Nova and Emily Welker in a close 7-5 battle, earning the doubles point for the Commodores. Vanderbilt is now 17-2 in matches where it won the doubles point, demonstrating just how pivotal that strong start is.
Ray and Stammel’s momentum carried over to singles, with No. 25 Ray crushing Soulie 6-3, 6-0 at the No. 2 spot, and No. 33 Stammel taking care of No. 15 Welker in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6 (5), at the No. 1 spot. The junior and senior have been steady forces at the top of Vanderbilt’s lineup, excelling in both singles and doubles.
Vanderbilt only needed one more singles win to clinch the match. The Rebels got on the board with Olsen downing No. 93 Yamakita, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. That momentum quickly dissipated as Vijayakumar closed the deal against Nova. The Commodore sophomore breezed through the first set, winning 6-1, before dropping a tight second set, 5-7. However, the Ellicott City, Maryland, native earned a 6-3 third set victory, securing the match for Vanderbilt.
While the match was already decided, both Pearce and Webster were in the midst of intense three-set battles. Webster defeated Ichino Horikawa in a third-set tiebreak, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 1-0 (10-6). Pearce split the first two sets with Crowder, winning 6-2 before losing 5-7. The freshman came up just short, losing the final set, 7-6 (5), in heartbreaking fashion. After winning 5-2, Tsoubanos and company looked to carry this success forward on the road against LSU.
LSU
The Tigers got off to a fast start Saturday, with Addison Lanton and Alexia Marginean downing Macavei and Webster, 6-3. LSU’s No. 67-ranked duo of Kenna Erickson and Ella McDonald notched a 6-3 victory over Pearce and Yamakita, awarding the Tigers the doubles point. Ray and Stammel were down 5-3 when the doubles point was called.
Lanton carried her play to singles, securing her second win of the day by beating Vijayakumar, 6-3, 6-2. LSU’s No. 58 Cadence Brace kept it going, capturing a 6-3, 6-1 win over Stammel at the No. 1 spot. LSU, now up 3-0, needed just one more match to fall its way. However, Vanderbilt hadn’t given up yet.
Webster avenged her doubles loss to Marginean with a 6-3, 6-2 singles win. However, Kuhl secured the match for the Tigers, toppling Yamakita, 7-6 (3), 6-4. With LSU up 4-1, Ray and Pearce just looked to improve their personal records. Ray defeated No. 88 McDonald 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in a hard-fought effort, improving her total weekend record to a remarkable 3-0. Pearce lost her second-straight singles match in gut-wrenching fashion, losing in another third set tiebreak. This time, it was Erickson who escaped with a victory over the freshman, winning 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (3).
The Commodores look to rebound Friday, March 27, when they will face off against No. 18 Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The match is set for 4 p.m. CDT.
