MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Vanderbilt women’s tennis took home some hardware from the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships, as junior Bridget Stammel defeated Purdue’s Carmen Gallardo Guevara 7-5, 6-2 in the singles finals on Tuesday.
No. 34 Stammel, looking to repeat after last season’s regional tournament victory, entered the match a winner of five in a row. However, Gallardo Guevara came into Tuesday with some momentum of her own. The Boilermaker earned match wins against Kentucky’s Julia Zhu and East Tennessee State’s Daniela Rivera ahead of the singles finals matchup.
“I knew going in it would be a tough match but I felt that if I kept playing the way I had been all weekend, that it would be enough to beat her,” Stammel said. “I just tried to stay in the moment and stay focused.”
The Commodore indeed opened the match focused, pulling out to a 4-1 first set lead in a matter of minutes. Gallardo Guevara, looking for any sort of momentum, did find a spark down 40-0 in the sixth game. She battled back to take the break point from Stammel and make the score 4-2, eventually rallying to tie the match at 5-5. Stammel, though, clamped down and took control of the set, closing out the frame 7-5 to lead the match. In the next, the Commodore wanted no part of another close set. Stammel imposed her will throughout the second, scoring in spurts en route to a quick 6-2 set victory, capturing the singles finals win.
“An outstanding five days of tennis from Bridget to win the regional for the second time in a row,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “There were some ups and downs in terms of momentum in a couple different matches, but she was able to maintain composure and work through to pull out those victories. I think having some challenging matches at All-Americans helped to prepare her for the regional.”
“In terms of the tennis, Bridget can generate pace effortlessly and she has the racket skills to mix in the slice and drop, which makes things pretty difficult for her opponents,” Tsoubanos continued. “She’s playing focused, committed tennis. I like her chances against anyone in the country and look forward to seeing her compete in Waco.”
Stammel is the second consecutive player to win the Ohio Valley Regional in back-to-back seasons: Tennessee’s Elza Tomase accomplished the feat in 2021 and 2022. The Commodore punched her ticket to the NCAA Singles Championships hosted by Baylor, taking place Nov. 19-24.
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