ORLANDO, Fla. — Another day at the NCAA Championships, another three-set thriller for Vanderbilt. Graduate Célia-Belle Mohr and sophomore Sophia Webster again clutched up with their backs against the wall, pulling off a comeback 1-6, 6-3, 10-8 win over Duke on Thursday to advance to the doubles quarterfinals and earn ITA All-American status together for a second consecutive season.

“A very cool and proud moment for Célia and Sophia to pull out another come-from-behind victory and earn their second All-American doubles honor together,” head coach Aleke Tsoubanos said. “It wasn’t how we would have drawn it up, but once again they stayed together, believed and executed when it mattered most.”

The Dores fell behind early going up against the Blue Devils’ Liv Hovde and Shavit Kimchi. The Duke duo nabbed a 40-40 deciding point in the opening game and never looked back. Mohr and Webster got on the board in the fourth game to make the score 3-1, but Hovde and Kimchi controlled nearly every point, ultimately taking the first set 6-1.

Just as they did in the round of 32, the Dores did not flinch with their tournament lives on the line. Mohr and Webster jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second behind two serving games and a break in between. The Blue Devils did cut into the deficit late to make the score 5-3, but the serve ended up with Mohr, who delivered four straight service points to again force a match-deciding super tiebreaker.

The 10-point tiebreaker went back and forth between serves to start; neither team converted a break point until Vanderbilt took a 5-4 lead from a Duke miscue. The black and gold did not trail the remainder of the match. After the Dores put the match on the brink at 9-6, Duke fended off three straight match points. But with the score 9-8 in favor of Vandy, it was Webster’s turn to deliver in the clutch, using her serve to net the 10th point and match win.

“The start of the match was a bit reactive and hesitant after an early missed opportunity to break,” Tsoubanos said. “I think some nerves came into play as well. Duke did a good job defensively of making a few extra balls, which we could have been more prepared for. But Célia and Sophia made those adjustments very well in the second set, and played smarter doubles with fewer errors to even the match at one set a piece. They trusted one another and stayed unified emotionally, which is so important on the doubles court. From 3-3 in the tiebreak, they created a bit of breathing room to get to 7-5 on the second change of ends. They executed some big-time serves and volleys late to close out the match. Tomorrow will be another great opportunity for them in the quarterfinals.”

Throughout the first set in their opening two matches, Mohr and Webster are 0-2 in set count, trail 5-12 in game count and have converted just 50-percent of their service games. From there, the switch gets flipped. In the second and third set combined, the pair hold a 4-0 set advantage, lead 12-7 in game count, are a flawless 10-0 in service games and have produced a 22-5 discrepancy in service points while generating 10 break points along the way.

With the comeback victory, Mohr and Webster clinched ITA All-American honors for a second straight year. Tsoubanos described Mohr as “the most decorated player in Vanderbilt women’s tennis history” after last season, and the graduate continued that with her sixth All-American selection: three in both singles and doubles. Mohr joins Tsoubanos and current WTA pro Astra Sharma as the only Dores in program history to achieve All-American status in doubles three separate times. Webster, who capped off her debut season as the first freshman All-American in program history, earns her second selection in doubles. She now adds to the Vanderbilt record book after becoming the only player to achieve that feat in their first two seasons. Together, Mohr and Webster are the first back-to-back doubles All-Americans since none other than Tsoubanos in 2002 and 2003 along with partner Sarah Riske.

The run does not stop here for Vanderbilt, as the Dores look ahead to a quarterfinal matchup with Virginia’s No. 26 ranked Martina Genis Salas and Annabelle Xu. First serve is expected at noon. The NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships tournament page is available online with live stats available here. Each match will be streamed on ESPN+, and main coverage will be provided by Cracked Racquets.

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