NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After locking down the doubles point and two singles matches, the No. 20 South Florida Bulls came back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the No. 25 Commodores; 4-3.
For the fifth consecutive match the Commodores won their doubles point, with Vanderbilt victories on courts one and three.
No. 5 Gonzales Austin and Rhys Johnson defeated Roberto Cid and Sasha Gozun, 6-4. On court three senior Suresh Eswaran and freshman Danny Valent teamed up to defeat Oliver Pramming and Justin Roberts in a close 7-6(4) matchup.
In singles action Daniel Valent finished first, with an easy 6-0, 6-4 win in the No. 4 position of the Commodore lineup. The victory over USF’s Sasha Gozun was Valent’ eighth win in a row, which dates back to November. Valent’s match was the only two-set victory of the evening.
The Bull’s Oliver Pramming got the best of Rhys Johnson who fell in a three-set match; 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.
After falling in his first set to No. 19 Roberto Cid, No. 10 Gonzales Austin fought to win the second set in a 7-6(4) tiebreak. The senior carried over his momentum into the third set, winning the No. 1 singles match; 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.
Both Kris Yee and Baker Newman won their first sets, but dropped their second and third. Yee won his first set, 7-5, but lost his second 5-7. After a strong fight in his first two sets the senior fell to Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz in the third, 3-6. Newman was defeated by Vadym Kalyuzhnyy in No. 5 singles; 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
With all hopes resting on the senior, Eswaran put in a tremendous effort in the No. 6 singles. After winning the first set, 6-3, and falling in the second 4-6, Eswaran fought back from a 0-4 deficit in the third set to tie it up at four-all. Eswarn fell to Justin Roberts in the third set, 4-6.
The Commodores face-off against the No. 1 seeded Kentucky Wildcats, as they lost to the No. 4 seeded Penn State; 4-3. Sunday’s consolation match begins at 12 p.m. CT.
Match #2
No. 20 South Florida 4, No. 25 Vanderbilt 3
Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center – Lexington, Ky.
Jan. 23, 2015
Doubles: (Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*)
1- AJ Austin/Rhys Johnson (VU) def. Roberto Cid/Sasha Gozun (USF) 6-4
2- Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz/Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF) def. Baker Newman/Ryan Smith (VU) 6-3
3- Suresh Eswaran/Danny Valent (VU) def. Oliver Pramming/Justin Roberts (USF) 7-6 (4)
Singles: (Order of finish: 4, 3, 1, 2, 5, 6*)
1- AJ Austin (VU) def. Roberto Cid (USF) 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4
2- Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (USF) def. Kris Yee (VU) 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
3- Oliver Pramming (USF) def. Rhys Johnson (VU) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
4- Danny Valent (VU) def. Sasha Gozun (USF) 6-0, 6-3
5- Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF) def. Baker Newman (VU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
6- Justin Roberts (USF) def. Suresh Eswaran (VU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
