ATHENS, Ga. – Gonzales Austin advanced to the Division I Singles quarterfinals as he defeated Armstrong Atlantic’s Georgi Rumenov in a heated three set match 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 on Saturday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Austin was the lone Commodore to advance past the round of 16 on Saturday as Ryan Lipman and Kris Yee were knocked off. Lipman fell to the No. 1 seed Bob van Overbeek of Florida 7-5, 6-1. Yee dropped his match to Georgia Tech’s Juan Spir, who is the No. 4 overall seed, 6-4, 7-6 (7).
Gonzales will face off against Florida’s Michael Alford on Sunday morning for a chance to go to the semifinals.
Earlier in the day, Lipman, Yee and Austin all advanced to the round of 16. Lipman defeated Ole Miss’ William Kallberg in a walkover, as he suffered an injury on the first day of competition; Yee defeated North Florida’s Moritz Buerchner 6-4, 6-3; and Austin won a marathon, three hour match versus Virginia Tech’s Amerigo Contini 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Vanderbilt head coach Ian Duvenhage talked about Lipman’s return to the court and the impact he has made early on this season.
“He didn’t play great,” Duvenhage explained. “He was very nervous at the beginning, a bit jittery and obviously not in match form yet. He made really smart decisions and he played intelligently out there. You have to get through the first round if you want to win the tournament. Playing the No. 1 seed (Bob van Overbeek) was a great opportunity for him.”
In the Division I singles consolation bracket, Michael Retta advanced to the round of 16 after beating Florida’s Billy Federhofer. Rhys Johnson was knocked out of the tournament by Clemson’s Austin Ansari 6-4, 6-4. Jeff Offerdahl’s match was postponed until Sunday morning due to rain.
Retta will have to wait and find out who his next opponent will be until Sunday morning. He will face the winner of Kennesaw State’s Alex Toliver and Mississippi State’s Romain Bogaert.
Vanderbilt’s three doubles teams are all still in the tournament and will play on Sunday morning at approximately 8 a.m.
Saturday’s Results
Division I Singles Round of 32
Ryan Lipman (Vanderbilt) def. William Kallberg (Ole Miss) w/o
Kris Yee (Vanderbilt) def. Moritz Buerchner (North Florida) 6-4, 6-3
Gonzales Austin (Vanderbilt) def. Amerigo Contini (Va. Tech) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Division I Singles Round of 16
(1) Bob van Overbeek (Florida) def. Ryan Lipman (Vanderbilt) 7-5, 6-1
(4) Juan Spir (Ga. Tech) def. Kris Yee (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 6-2
Gonzales Austin (Vanderbilt) def. Georgi Rumenov (Armstrong Atlantic) 2-6, 7-6, 7-6
Division I Singles Consolation
Austin Ansari (Clemson) def. Rhys Johnson (Vanderbilt) 6-4, 6-4
Michael Retta (Vanderbilt) def. Billy Federhofer (Florida) 6-2, 5-2, ret.
