NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The No. 32 Vanderbilt women’s tennis team will close its regular season at home with a doubleheader against No. 52 Louisiana State University and Tennessee State University on Friday, followed by a match on Sunday against No. 2 Texas A&M.
Scouting the Field
The Commodores defeated No. 57 Kentucky last weekend, moving to 12-9 overall on the season. The SEC match saw No. 34 Celia-Belle Mohr and Anessa Lee extend their singles win streaks to six and five, respectively. The No. 78 pairing of Mohr and Marcella Cruz also earned their third consecutive win against Kentucky. In the latest ITA rankings, Bridget Stammel locked in a singles ranking of No. 85.
The No. 52 LSU Tigers are 4-7 in SEC play, with its two most recent victories coming against Mississippi State and Ole Miss. The Tigers have two singles players ranked in the top 30 and three doubles pairings in the top 90. Overall, Vanderbilt is 30-17 against LSU and will look to improve that record at noon on Friday.
After the Dores take on the LSU Tigers, they will face off against in-state opponent the TSU Tigers. TSU is 4-18 overall this season, with its most recent win over Lindenwood. The match will not begin before 4 p.m. on Friday.
The Dores will take on the only undefeated team in the SEC at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday when they play No. 2 Texas A&M. The Aggies’ team features the No. 2 singles player in the country, along with six other members in the top 120. Texas A&M also has four doubles pairings ranked in the top 70. Overall, Vanderbilt is 4-8 against Texas A&M.
Celebrating the Seniors
Before Sunday’s match, Vanderbilt will honor Marcella Cruz, Dasha Kourkina and Anna Ross as a part of senior day. The celebrations will begin at about 10:45 a.m.
Marcella Cruz: Hailing from Marlboro, New Jersey, Cruz is a relentless competitor. As a freshman, she went 14-9 overall in singles play with a 4-1 dual match record before her rookie season was cut short by the pandemic. Even so, she was named to the SEC All-Newcomer team. In the 2020–21 season, she showed no signs of slowing down as she went 13-5 in dual-match singles play, clinched four victories for the team and earned SEC Newcomer of the Week for her role in Vanderbilt’s comeback against SEC rival Kentucky. As a junior, Cruz went 23-15 overall in singles play, including a win over a ranked opponent from South Carolina. This season, Cruz and doubles partner Mohr have consistently helped the team gain the advantage on…