ATHENS, Ga. – Gonzales Austin knocked off both Austin Ansari and Beck Pennington to advance to the Division I Singles quarterfinals of the Southern Collegiate Championships on Sautrday from the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Suresh Eswaran also won both of his matches today to advance to the Division II Singles quarterfinals. The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team finished the second day of action with a 6-7 record in singles play and 1-2 in doubles play.
“There were a lot of positives today,” said VU head coach Ian Duvenhage. “We played good tennis overall. AJ [Austin] and Suresh did a great job to win their matches and move on in the tournament. Ryan [Smith] and Kris [Yee] also played well against tough opponents.”
Austin the fourth-seeded singles player in the Divison I bracket won his first match of the day against Ansari of Clemson 7-6(1), 6-4. The junior then went on to knock off Pennington of Kentucky 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Austin will advance to play the eight seed Austin Smith of Georgia.
“Though AJ won both matches, he still has better tennis to play,” Duvenhage said. “We still haven’t seen him play the way we know he can in this tournament and Smith will be a good challenge for him.”
Eswaran picked up wins over Daniel Strawn of Clemson and Luke Synn of Furman to advance along to the DII singles quarters on Sunday. He will match up with Casey Kay of Georgia Tech.
“Suresh was great today,” Duvenhage exclaimed. “If we gave out a game ball today, he would be the one to receive it. He played great tennis in both matches.”
The doubles team of Austin and Ryan Lipman were also able to move along in the tournament with an 8-6 win over Hellier and Rondino of UAB. The duo will face Smith and Nick Wood of Georgia in Sunday’s quarters.
Despite getting eliminated from the tournament Ryan Smith, Kris Yee and Pin Binet were each applauded by their coach for their performances on the hard court Saturday.
“Each of them played very well today,” Duvenhage said. “Ryan played a good first set in his match, Kris played a great second set against a tough opponent in his match and Pen played well today as well. We need to play a little more consistant and the results will follow.”
Saturday Results
Division I Singles – Round of 32
Rhys Johnson def. Carlos Benito (Georgia Tech): 7-5, 7-6(3)
Hernus Pieters (UGA) def. Kris Yee: 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
Gonzales Austin def. Austin Ansari (Clemson): 7-6(1), 6-4
Rafael Rondino (UAB) def. Ryan Smith: 7-6(4): 6-2
Division I Singles – Round of 16
Nathan Pasha (UGA) def. Rhys Johnson: 6-3, 6-4
Gonzales Austin def. Beck Pennington, Kentucky: 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Division II Singles – Round of 32
Pen Binet def. Adam Jonsson, Lander: 6-2, 6-4
Suresh Eswaran def. Daniel Strawn, Clemson: 6-2, 7-6(4)
Alex Ferrero, Portland def. Anton Kovrigin: 6-7, 6-4, 6-1
Division II Singles – Round of 16
Suresh Eswaran def. Luke Synn, Furman: 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(1)
Andrew Goodwin, Alabama def. Pen Binet: 6-3, 6-2
Division I Doubles – Round of 16
Austin/ Lipman def. Helliar/ Rondino (UAB): 8-6
Division II Doubles – Round of 16
Samaai/ Segur, Liberty def. Kovrigin/ Offerdahl: 8-3
Mohanty/ Mohanty, Mercer def. Binet/ Eswaran: 8-2
Division I Singles – Consolation First Round
Alex Arovin, Tenn. Tech def. Ryan Lipman w/o
Joao Monteiro, Va. Tech def. Jeffrey Offerdahl 6-4, 3-6, 1-0(10)
Sunday Schedule
Division I Singles – Quarterfinals
Gonzales Austin vs. Austin Smith(UGA): 11 a.m.
Division II Singles – Quarterfinals
Suresh Eswaran vs. Daniel Strawn (GA Tech): 10:30 a.m.
Division I Doubles – Quarterfinals
Austin/Lipman (Vandy) vs. Wood/Austin (UGA): TBA
