DURHAM, N.C. — The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team secured its spot in the ITA Kickoff Weekend championship match with a 4-2 win over Cornell on Saturday.
“First, hats off to Cornell for a very well and hard fought match,” head coach Scott Brown said. “I have a lot of respect for their coach, Silviu [Tanasoiu]. Their team competes really hard, but they do it with class and act like professionals. This was a really high quality tennis match.”
The Dores struck first in doubles. Junior Nathan Cox and senior Michael Ross notched their first ranked doubles win of the season in a 6-3 thumping of No. 61 Khosla/Verdes. Sophomore Danil Panarin and freshman Pablo Martinez Gomez joined in shortly after with their own ranked win, also the first of the year. The duo dismantled No. 109 Papoe/Fernandes 6-3.
In singles, Vanderbilt kept its foot on the pedal. The Dores opened up first set advantages in four of the six singles matches. The leads translated to early singles wins, as Panarin and Ruger clinched two more points for the black and gold. With the match score 3-0, Cornell dug in. The Big Red earned back-to-back straight set wins at No. 3 and No. 6 singles. At 3-2, all eyes turned towards No. 100 Cox versus No. 23 Papoe at No. 1 singles. Despite Papoe forcing a third set, Cox showed no issue in the final frame. The junior consistently had Papoe on his heels, eventually securing the match victory with a blistering forehand return shot off of a serve.
“I could not be more proud of our guys,” Brown said. “That’s what college tennis is about. The momentum can swing at any moment. Before the match, we told the team that we were winning this match for Hugo, who was not with us today. They went out there and played for him. And I think we showed how much depth we have and how tough we are. But now we have to move on and put our full focus on Duke. We will get our minds and bodies ready to go to war tomorrow.”
Vanderbilt (3-1) is set to face No. 11 Duke (3-0) in the championship match tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. The winner earns a spot into the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February. Live streaming will be available online and live stats can be accessed here at the start of the match. For more information, updates, and exclusive game day content, follow the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team, @VandyMTennis, on Instagram and X.
Vanderbilt 4, Cornell 2
Doubles
1. Cox/Ross (Vanderbilt) def. No. 61 Verdes/Khosla (Cornell) 6-3
2. Martinez Gomez/Panarin (Vanderbilt) def. No. 109 Papoe/Fernandes (Cornell) 6-3
3. Sinha/McCarthy (Cornell) def. Markowitz/Ruger (Vanderbilt) 6-1
Singles
1. No. 100 Nathan Cox (Vanderbilt) def. No. 23 Radu Papoe (Cornell) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
2. Danil Panarin (Vanderbilt) def. Adit Sinha (Cornell) 6-2, 6-1
3. Jack McCarthy (Cornell) def. Michael Ross (Vanderbilt) 6-2, 6-4
4. Pablo Martinez Gomez (Vanderbilt) vs. Rodrigo Fernandes (Cornell) 6-3, 3-6, 4-4, unfinished
5. Henry Ruger (Vanderbilt) def. Eric Verdes (Cornell) 6-4, 6-0
6. Felipe Pinzon (Cornell) def. Tighe Brunetti (Vanderbilt) 7-6, 6-1
(Order of finish: Doubles 3, 1, 2 / Singles 2, 5, 3, 6, 1)
