Sept. 10, 2015
FLUSHING, N.Y. — Gonzales Austin will continue representing the Commodores for one last tournament as the 2015 grad defeated Columbia’s Winston Lin in quarterfinal play of the American Collegiate Invitational.
Photo Credit: USTA
Taking place at the U.S. Open, Thursday’s match began close, but with a few key breaks and two aces the Commodore broke away to a 5-2 lead. With the first set on the line, Lin broke back giving the Lion momentum to keep fighting and the energy to hold serve. With the score at 5-4, enough was enough as the Vandy grad took the first set 6-4.
“I started playing pretty well,” said Austin. “I wasn’t returning great, and went for a little more and took advantage of some opportunities. That’s one of things I wanted to work on here in the big moments… to just go after it and to play freely and that’s what I felt I did today on the big points.”
Much like the first set, the second was toe-to-toe with each competitor consistently holding serve until the score was level at 3-all. Up a break, “AJ” Austin had the 4-3 advantage that was necessary for the Miami, Fla. native to power through the next two games and take the match 6-4, 6-3.
Looking towards Friday’s semifinal match, Austin is slated to take on 2015 NCAA singles champion Ryan Shane from Virginia. The Commodore last faced Shane during the semifinals of the 2014 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. Austin was up 7-5, 3-3 when the Cavalier was forced to retire from the match due to a nosebleed.
“He (Shane) is going into his senior year I believe, and is just a great player. He won the NCAA Championships and the U.S. Open, so he has some experience. But I’ve played hundreds of matches and I’m ready for a challenge and to see him again.”
With inclement weather being a factor so far in the ACI, follow @VandyMensTennis on Twitter for schedule updates.
