MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Multiple members of the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team advanced past day one of the main draw at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships hosted by Middle Tennessee.
Four Commodores kicked off the tournament action on Friday for the opening matches of the day. Sophomore Valeria Ray matched up against Louisville’s Elena Noguero on court seven. Ray built an early lead and never looked back, capturing the initial set 6-0. Noguero grabbed her first lead of the match in the second set, but ultimately could not adjust to Ray’s forehand returns. The Commodore closed out the match with a 6-4 second set victory to move on in the singles draw.
Sophomore Sophia Webster took court six against Zeynep Erman of Cincinatti. Webster clinched multiple grueling points but was unable to command the momentum of the opening set; Erman took the advantage with a 6-3 set one win. The Commodore returned the favor in the next frame, collecting multiple serve points en route to a 6-3 set two victory. The final set saw multiple back-and-forth rallies, a wide array of shot types, diving efforts, and high emotion between the two competitors. Webster completed the comeback with a tiebreak 7-6 win in the third set to down Erman and advance to the next round.
Senior Amy Stevens, adjacent to Webster on court five, took on Cincinatti’s Gabrielle Guenther. A slow start led to a 5-1 advantage for Guenther in the first set. However, Stevens settled in and slowly began to chip away. The Commodore stretched out the court with accurate high-arching shots and low forehand strikes, eventually evening the set at 5-5. The scoring run included multiple points from rallies of over 20 shots. Yet, Stevens could not pin down Guenther, and the Bearcat escaped the first set 7-5. Guenther controlled the contest the rest of the way, winning set two 6-0 to claim the match.
Junior Sonya Macavei competed on court nine versus Rosalie Dohnalova of Chattanooga. Macavei dropped the opening set 6-3 and quickly fell behind in the second 4-1. The Commodore locked in with her back against the wall, taking the next three games to even the score 4-4. The set soon went to 5-5, but the comeback effort came up just short. Dohnalova held on for the 7-5 victory in set two to advance ahead in the singles bracket.
Senior Bridget Stammel and freshman Trinetra Vijayakumar each began their matches soon after. No. 34 ranked Stammel faced Tennessee’s Conley Raidt on court one. Stammel…