NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Hard work finally paid off for the No. 68 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team, as the squad earned a huge victory on the road over the 17th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats, 4-3. The win was the squad’s first SEC victory of the year, and second over an Oracle/ITA top-25 program.
In dramatic fashion, with the match tied at 3-3, senior Rhys Johnson clinched the victory for VU for the fourth time this season in a powerful third set tiebreaker.
“We’ve been close all year long,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage, “and we’ve played a bunch of good matches and haven’t had much to show for it in the win column. We’ve been talking about the fact that if we keep knocking on the door, and that we just have to stay with it and keep the faith beating these guys is not easy to do. The crowd was incredibly rowdy; it was actually very dramatic. But the point is that Rhys (Johnson) handled the situation extremely well.”
The Commodores opened up their third conference competition with doubles play, as matches on courts two and three were fairly lopsided in favor of either team.
Tate Allwardt and Baker Newman earned a 3-2 lead and held on to secure the first win of the day on court three and seventh overall for the pair, 6-2. Down 4-0 on court two, Pen Binet and Daniel Valent won three-straight games to put the ‘Dores back in the contest, but UK pulled out the victory, 6-3.
With doubles split, the crucial point game down to court one where the Commodores’ Rhys Johnson and Cameron Klinger were on match point. The Wildcat’s Wallart/Ellefsen hung around, sending the match to a heavily contested tiebreaker. The Commodores took the battle of the breaker and secured the doubles point for the 12th time this season, 7-6.
“I think our doubles has gotten better consistently with each week. I thought we played good doubles against Georgia, but obviously came up short. Today, we got in a bit of a jam at No. 2, but came back and kept it competitive. Baker and Tate got off the court early to give us a 1-0 lead. Then Rhys and Cam did what they’ve done pretty much all year. I think at this point you have to say that they’re one of the best doubles teams in the country.”
Following singles, the Cats rebounded, taking courts five and six in straight sets for a 2-1 lead. Klinger, a freshman playing at No. 3, leveled the score to 2-all as he took down junior Nils Ellefsen after a tight first set 7-5, 6-3.
Kentucky took the lead once more, as No. 23 William Bushamuka earned the first set over No. 54 Valent, 6-3. The sophomore saved match point on court one, but the Wildcat came out victorious; 6-3, 6-4.
Baker Newman secured his first set in a hard fought tiebreaker. With the match at 3-2, and with pressure mounting on the two remaining singles matches, Newman used the momentum to break his opponent, Enzo Wallert, twice. Wallert sustained an injury at 7-6, 3-0 and withdrew from the competition to level the score.
At 3-3 Johnson was sitting pretty up 5-1 in the third and was serving for the match; his opponent, No. 108 Ryotaro Matsumura, had other intentions. Mastumura came back and, fueled by the Wildcat crowd, earned the 6-5 lead.
“Rhys had a great third set, but then was having trouble converting. So he was in a pickle there serving at 5-6, and found a way to hold to get it into the tiebreaker.”
Like the beginning of the first and third sets, Johnson flew through the breaker, clinching the victory for the Commodores, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(1).
“Well, honestly, I was just relieved to get to the tiebreaker,” said Johnson. “Then once it started I just wanted to keep my first serve percentage up and try to make the guy play as many balls as possible. Fortunately, I came out on top of most of those points.”
VU looks to carry momentum to Knoxville, as the Commodores take on in-state rival Tennessee on Sunday at 12:00 pm CT.
Results:
No. 68 Vanderbilt 4, No. 17 Kentucky 3
Singles (Order of Finish: 6, 5, 3, 1, 4, 2)
- #23 William Bushamuka (UK) def. Daniel Valent (VANDY) 6-3, 6-4
- Rhys Johnson (VANDY) def. #108 Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
- Cameron Klinger (VANDY) def. Nils Ellefsen (UK) 7-5, 6-3
- Baker Newman (VANDY) def. Enzo Wallart (UK) 7-6, 3-0, retired
- Trey Yates (UK) def. Kris Yee (VANDY) 6-2, 6-2
- Jake Stefanik (UK) def. Alex Ross (VANDY) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles (Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1)
- Rhys Johnson/Cameron Klinger (VANDY) def. Enzo Wallart/Nils Ellefsen (UK) 7-6
- William Bushamuka/Gus Benson (UK) def. Daniel Valent/Pen Binet (VANDY) 6-3
- Baker Newman/Tate Allwardt (VANDY) def. Ryotaro Matsumura/Kevin Lai (UK) 6-2
