Vanderbilt University’s women’s tennis team began its Southeastern Conference (SEC) season with a decisive 6-1 win over Missouri at the Lummis Family Tennis Center in Nashville. The victory extended the Commodores’ current winning streak to six matches.
“It was a great team win for us to start off the SEC season today at home,” said head coach Aleke Tsoubanos. “I commend Missouri, I thought they actually competed really well, even in spots where maybe the score did not indicate that. They are an improved team from a year ago, and I give them credit for keeping themselves in some matches and fighting until the end.”
Vanderbilt secured its seventh consecutive doubles point to open the match. The No. 10 ranked pair of junior Valeria Ray and senior Bridget Stammel earned their ninth straight victory, marking the team’s longest ongoing streak in either singles or doubles play.
In singles competition, freshman Erin Pearce achieved a 6-0, 6-0 win over Zoe Lazar. After close contests earlier in the week, No. 15 Ray won her match against Alex Ackman by a score of 6-2, 6-0. Graduate Célia-Belle Mohr (No. 34) and senior Bridget Stammel (No. 42) added points with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 singles positions respectively.
Sophomore Sophia Webster completed Vanderbilt’s scoring by defeating Lara Quaglia 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6 singles; Webster remains unbeaten this season among players with five or more dual match appearances.
“I thought we played a very good doubles point again, and that certainly sets the tone heading into the singles,” Tsoubanos said. “We got off to some quick starts on a few courts there, and were able to maintain those leads to close out four points for a team victory. We’ll have a great week of practice coming up, and we look forward to the Texas A&M and Texas matches this weekend. Obviously, we played both of those teams just a few weeks ago, and I think we learned some valuable lessons. So we’re excited about the opportunity that presents itself this weekend. We had great support this afternoon and hope for fans to be back here with us on Friday.”
The Commodores will next host alumni weekend featuring rematches against nationally ranked opponents Texas A&M (No. 5) and Texas (No. 10).
For further updates on Vanderbilt women’s tennis activities or match content, followers can find information via @VandyWTennis on Instagram or X.
