NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Despite being down match point in the deciding match, the Vanderbilt Commodores held on for a 4-3 win over the UAB Blazers Sunday afternoon, with Gonzales Austin clinching the win in a third set.
“Clearly, we are learning from past experiences,” said Head Coach Ian Duvenhage. “Just because we were down matchpoint, doesn’t mean it’s over. We’ve been on the other side before, and it’s awesome to see the guys stick it out today. We’re learning.”
The Blazers got out to an early lead over the Commodores, winning the doubles point on courts two and three, but Austin and Anton Kovrigin prevented the sweep in doubles, beating Tom Puetz and David Zimmerman 8-6 on court one. The pair came back from being down 4-5 in the set.
But the Dores shook off the rust for their singles matches.
Charlie Jones extended his winning streak to six matches, and twelve straight sets with his 6-0, 6-2 win over David Zimmerman in the No. 1 position. Jones evened the match up at 1-1 for the Commodores, getting them on the board quickly in singles.
Freshman Jeff Offerdahl followed Jones, extending his own winning streak to five straight matches with his 6-3, 7-5 win on court four. Joe Dorn followed up, building the Vanderbilt lead to 3-1 with his 6-4, 7-5 win.
UAB pushed the Dores to 3-2 when Chris Helliar defeated Anton Kovrigin in two 7-5 sets, leaving the match up to Austin and Suresh Eswaran. Eswaran, getting his first collegiate duals action, dropped his match 6-2, 6-2 against junior Tom Puetz.
Meanwhile, Austin, who dropped his first set 6-4 and was behind in his second set, forced a tiebreaker. He found himself down 5-3 in the tiebreaker, but battled back to win 7-6(9-7), forcing a third set.
Austin, tied 1-1 in his third set, broke serve to go up 2-1. He took the next three games to go up 5-1. Manlow then held serve to make it 5-2. And with the match down to the wire, Austin clinched the win for the Dores with a 6-2 third set.
“I believed in my game, and I knew that if I stuck it out when I was down match point, I could win for my team,” said Austin. “I’m glad I could contribute for the team today, and I’m proud of the way the other guys played.”
The Commodores improve with this win to 5-4, and will host Michigan in their last non-conference match on February 25th.
Results:
Singles:
1. #66 Charlie Jones (VU) def. David Zimmerman (UAB) 6-0, 6-2
2. Gonzales Austin (VU) def. Danny Manlow (UAB) 4-6, 7-6(9-7), 6-2
3. Chris Helliar (UAB) def. Anton Kovrigin (VU) 7-5, 7-5
4. Jeff Offerdahl (VU) def. Daniel Moser (UAB) 6-3, 7-5
5. Joe Dorn (VU) def. Lucas Dirube (UAB) 6-4, 7-5
6. Tom Puetz (UAB) def. Suresh Eswaran (VU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles:
1. Gonzales Austin-Anton Kovrigin (VU) def. Tom Puetz-David Zimmerman (UAB) 8-6
2. Danny Manlow-Daniel Moser (UAB) def. Suresh Eswaran-Charlie Jones (VU) 8-5
3. Chris Helliar-Lucas Dirube (UAB) def. Joe Dorn-Jeff Offerdahl (VU) 8-3
MatchNotes:
#43 Vanderbilt, 5-4
UAB, 5-2
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1), Singles (1,4,5,3,6,2)
