OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 18 Vanderbilt women’s tennis team defeated No. 73 Ole Miss 5-2 in its first conference match of the season.
Celia-Belle Mohr and Marcella Cruz were locked in on the No. 2 doubles court, claiming a 6-0 victory over Lillian Gabrielsen and Kelsey Mize. Anessa Lee and Bridget Stammel clinched the doubles point for the Dores on Court 3, giving Vandy a 1-0 advantage heading into singles.
Mohr brought her doubles momentum into her singles play, finishing first on Court 1. Amy Stevens followed with a 6-0, 6-3 victory to put the Commodores within one. Stammel brought it home with her two-set victory on Court 4.
The Dores and Rebels played out the rest of the singles matches where Holly Staff earned another point for Vandy and the Rebels picked up two points.
“It’s always exciting to start SEC play and even more exciting to earn a victory on the road. We played tough and fearless doubles on all three courts with Marcella and CB setting the tone with a dominant 6-0 victory,” Vanderbilt head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “Celia was just outstanding at No. 1 singles and her energy was contagious to the rest of the team. Amy and Bridget played exceptional tennis to close out their matches in straight sets and secure the team win. While we dropped two singles matches in 10 point tie breakers, I thought we competed very well on all six singles courts today.”
Singles
No. 45 Mohr (Vandy) def. Anaelle Leclercq 6-1, 6-1
No. 101 Ludmila Kareisova (Ole Miss) def. No. 65 Anna Ross 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
No. 96 Staff (Vandy) def. Lillian Gabrielsen 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2)
Stammel (Vandy) def. Emma Kette 7-5, 6-1
Reka Zadori (Ole Miss) def. No. 98 Lee 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7)
Amy Stevens (Vandy) def. Rachel Krzyzak 6-0, 6-3
Doubles
Ross/Staff (Vandy) vs. Leclercq/Kareisova 4-3, unfinished
Mohr/Cruz (Vandy) def. Gabrielsen/Kelsey Mize 6-0
Stammel/Lee (Vandy) def. Kette/Zadori
The Dores will travel to Starkville, Mississippi to take on Mississippi State at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday.