KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team ended its run in the ITA Ohio Valley Regionals Sunday afternoon with Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe falling in the doubles semifinals and Daniel Valent suffering a loss in the singles semifinals.
“I thought there were a lot of positives in singles this weekend,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “Danny (Valent) and Baker (Newman) had wonderful tournaments, and Panu (Virtanen), Tate (Allwardt) and Cam (Klinger) all won a number of matches in the back draw. Doubles other than Billy and Cam, we’ve got some work to do.”
Taking on the fifth-ranked tandem in the nation from Tennessee, Klinger and Rowe had a hard time executing against the experienced Vols team. Valero/Schipanski only allowed the Commodore duo five games in their 6-2, 6-3 victory.
“We had a number of opportunities in the first set and either couldn’t make the return or couldn’t execute,” Duvenhage said. “They’re (Valero/Schipanski) definitely a good team, we just didn’t execute at the level we needed to to have a chance.”
In singles, the Commodores again had an SEC opponent on slate with No. 21 Valent facing Kentucky’s Trey Yates. The Wildcat secured the first set 6-3, then pulled off the victory with a 6-4 second set win.
In consolation semifinals, Allwardt fell in a close 6-3, 7-6(4) matchup against Indiana’s Matthew Mccoy. Klinger and Virtanen suffered losses in consolation quarterfinals, falling to Indiana’s Cambellin, 6-3, 6-4, and Sec 6-4, 6-2 respectively.
“Today was a tough day,” Duvenhage said. “I thought Tate and Danny played a great matches today, in spite of the fact that they both lost. Other than that, we’ve got to do better. I think there is a lot we can build on here. We’ve got a short week of practice coming up, and then get ready for the Commodore Scramble on Friday. The guys are getting to play a ton of matches, and that can only help.”
Commodore fans will finally be able to catch the Vandy men at home next weekend as the ‘Dores host their annual Commodore Scramble Friday-Sunday.
