May 21, 2014
ATHENS, Ga. – On the first day of the 2014 NCAA Division I Singles Championship both Gonzales Austin and Ryan Lipman of the 19th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team picked up wins to advance to the second round of competition. The duo will continue singles play on Thursday, along with opening doubles play at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
Austin was the first to move on as he defeated No. 37 Leonard Stakhovsky of Penn State in straight sets. The 21st-ranked junior didn’t have any issues taking down Stakhovsky, winning his first set in just 30 minutes before jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the second set.
The native of Miami will face No. 17 Winston Lin in the second round, setting up a rematch of the NCAA regional final in Nashville. Austin fell to Lin as the deciding point that sent Columbia to its first ever Sweet 16 this season.
Lipman had a tall task, facing No. 10 Yannick Hanfmann in the first round of competition. The Vandy senior jumped out to a quick 6-3 win in the first set, but Hanfmann bounced back in the second, picking up a 6-3 win of his own.
In the third and final set both players battled, winning serve after serve until Hanfmann forced a tiebreak at 6-all. In the breaker the USC junior jumped to an early 2-0 lead before Lipman worked it back to 3-all at the changeover.
With the tiebreak at 5-all, Lipman earned a mini break to go up 6-5 and served it out to win 7-5.
The Nashville native will face No. 45 Jordi Vives of Florida Gulf Coast who defeated No. 114 Philippe Tsangaridis of Coastal Carolina.
Austin and Lipman will open doubles play on Thursday against Nick Chappell and Will Stein of TCU.
NCAA Men’s Singles Championship – First Round
No. 21 Gonzales Austin (Vanderbilt) def. No. 37 Leonard Stakhovsky (Penn State): 6-2, 6-2
No. 59 Ryan Lipman (Vanderbilt) def. No. 10 [9-16] Yannick Hanfmann (Southern California): 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
NCAA Men’s Singles Championship – Second Round
Thursday:
No. 21 Gonzales Austin (Vanderbilt) vs. No. 17 [9-16] Winston Lin (Columbia) – 9 a.m. ET
No. 59 Ryan Lipman (Vanderbilt) vs. No. 45 Jordi Vives (Florida Gulf Coast) – 12:30 p.m. ET
NCAA Men’s Doubles Championship – First Round
Thursday:
No. 3 [3] Gonzales Austin/Ryan Lipman (Vanderbilt) vs. No. 11 Nick Chappell/Will Stein (TCU) – 6 p.m. ET
