Commodores Reach Two Finals at Ga. Tech Invite

Commodores Reach Two Finals at Ga. Tech Invite

10/8/2005 Atlanta — The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team, playing in its third fall tournament this year, reached at least the quarterfinals in all four brackets of the Georgia Tech Invitational this weekend.

“It was definitely a competitive tournament,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage, who is in his first year at the helm for the Commodores. “There were a number of SEC representatives — Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Auburn, Alabama and Mississippi — so it was a very good tournament, and I can definitely see some progress. We still have a long way to go, but we have a lot of positives to go on from this weekend.”

Duvenhage said he was very pleased with the play of junior Evan Dufaux (Tampa, Fla.) and freshman Nick Cromydas (Glenview, Ill.) who actually met in the semifinals of the Singles B draw. Dufaux beat his teammate 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the finals where he pushed the No. 2 seed David Baxendine of Tennessee to two tiebreakers but lost both, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7).

Cromydas reached a final of his own when he teamed up with junior Nathan Sachs in the Doubles B Draw and won three matches before facing the No. 2 seed there, Georgia Tech teammates Jordan Delass and Geroge Gvelesiani, who won the flight title match 8-5.

While the Commodores did not have any other players in the final rounds of play, they reached the quarterfinals in at least every draw and posted a 13-6 record in singles play, and a 5-3 mark in doubles.

“It’s still a little early to decide who will play at what position, primarily because a number of the guys have played inconsistently at times. It’s hard to make decision about where players will fit in the lineup, until we have seen them play a few more times, and hopefully develop some more consistent play.”

While the team has been busy early in the fall season, it will take the next two weeks off from playing tournaments while the coaches spend some time focusing on recruiting efforts, before its final few tournaments of the fall.

Dufaux Beats Teammate in Semifinal

10/9/04

Atlanta, Ga. – Vanderbilt junior Evan Dufaux (Tampa, Fla.) defeated freshman teammate Nick Cromydas (Glenview, Ill.) in the semifinals of the Singles B Draw at the Georgia Tech Invitational 6-3, 6- 2. Dufaux advanced to the finals where he awaits the No. 2 seed David Baxendine of Tennessee. Baxendine has already defeated one Commodore in the tournament when he beat junior Jordan Magarik (Winchester, Va.) 6-4, 6-3  in the quarterfinals. P>

While Dufaux is the only Commodore left in singles play, a pair of Commodores are in the finals of the Doubles B Draw. Cromydas and junior Nathan Sachs (Alpharetta, Ga.) won their semifinals match over Nebraska’s Pietro-Oray team, 8-6. They now await the No. 2 seed there, Jordan Delass and George Gvelesiani of Georgia Tech.

The other VU doubles team of Magarik and sophomore Ryan Preston (Northbrook, Ill.) dropped their quarterfinals match to the No. 2 seeded Georgia duo of Omerzal and Gonzalez.

Men’s Tennis Competes at Georgia Tech Invitational

10/8/05

Atlanta – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team, playing its third fall tournament this year, began play at the Georgia Tech Invitational Friday. Sophomore Ryan Preston (Northbrook, Ill.) and junior Andy Mack (Plano, Texas) each competed in the Singles A Draw.

Both players won their first two matches, but then they each fell short of reaching the quarterfinals. Preston defeated Kentucky’s Sundh 6-3, 6-2, and Georgia Tech’s Rath, the No. 7 seed, 6-3, 7-6 (6). Preston then fell to the No. 1 seed, Georgia’s Omerzal, 6-1, 6-1.

Three Commodores competed in the Singles B Draw, freshman Nick Cromydas (Glenview, Ill.), junior Evan Dufaux (Tampa, Fla.),  and junior Jordan Magarik (Winchester, Va.). Two of them will face each other in the semifinals, Dufaux and Cromydas, after winning their first three matches. Magarik advanced to the second round when his opponent withdrew, won his next match 7-6 (6), 6-2 before falling to the No. 2 seed Bauxendine of Tennessee in the quarterfinals. P>

On the doubles side, Preston and Magarik teamed up in the Doubles A Draw to win their first match 8-4. They will now face the No. 2 seeded Georgia duo of Omerzal and Gonzalez. In the Doubles B Draw, Cromydas and junior Nathan Sachs (Alpharetta, Ga.) won their first two matches by a score of 8-4 and are now in the semifinals facing Pietro and Oray of Nebraska.