Women’s tennis: Vanderbilt ends fall season at NCAA Championships

Vanderbilt Women’s Tennis ended its fall season on Thursday as the doubles pair of 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, who both competed in singles. Those four NCAA Championships qualifiers 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 last three months prior to the NCAA Championships. The Commodores opened their fall season at ITA All-American Championships from 21.-28. September, and Mohr, Webster, Stammel and Ray all competed. The highlight of the tournament was the race between Mohr and Webster, which ended in a quarter-final for the pair.

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

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

From 7-10 On November 1, 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 punched 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 on their tournament bids. The payoff never came, however, 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, resulting in a 1-6 first set loss. In the second set, Blokhina denied any attempt at a comeback and defeated Ray 6–3 to take the match.

Stammel – Ray’s fellow Commodore in the singles draw – also suffered a set of losses. Stammel and Virginia Tech’s Oslem Uslu went punch for punch through the first set, which was tied 6-6 before moving into a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was also neck-and-neck until Uslu eventually beat Stammel 9-7 to take the set. Uslu carried her momentum through the second set, which she won dominantly, 6-2, to advance past Stammel.

Mohr and Webster looked to put on a stronger show in their doubles match the following day after those tough results. Competing against Harvard’s Kavya Karra and Stephanie Yakoff, the Commodores earned Vanderbilt’s first win of the tournament with a solid 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 game as a freshman.

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 victory in the second set.

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

“At the end of the day, our focus will always be on the team season,” Tsoubanos said. “Individual success this fall will only strengthen the team’s strength and provide players with opportunities to contribute to our success in the dual season.”

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