COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 48 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team fought to a 4-3 victory against No. 19 South Carolina on Sunday at the Carolina Tennis Center.
“Wow. What a weekend,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Brown. “This is what college tennis is about. We had two road matches, both 4-3, and both came down to the wire. This is why we train and we prepare– for matches like these. I want to give credit to both Adam Steinberg at Florida and Josh Goffi at South Carolina, they’re both world-class coaches who run world-class programs.”
The Commodores (12-10, 3-7 SEC) came out aggressive in doubles, staking claim on Courts 2 and 3 to win the doubles point. Jeremie Casabon and Nathan Cox led the Dores with a defeat of the Gamecocks’ Toby Samuel and Carter Morgan 7-5 on Court 2. Danil Panarin and Hugo Coquelin secured the doubles point for Vandy when they took down Jelani Sarr and Sean Daryabeigi, 6-4.
South Carolina picked up back-to-back wins to begin singles and pulled ahead of the Dores. The Gamecocks’ 19th-ranked Samuel defeated No. 73 Panarin on Court 1 and Lucas Da Silva overcame Michael Ross 7-5, 6-1 on Court 5, and the Gamecocks were ahead 2-1.
The Commodores wouldn’t go away however, and Casabon claimed a straight-set win over South Carolina’s Sarr, 6-3, 7-5. Cox tallied another point for the Dores when he defeated Daryabeigi, also in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4 on Court 3. Joubert Klopper fell to James Story in the third set, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 and the score was evened at 3 all. Coquelin was left on Court 6, and forced a third set, after winning the first and dropping the second to Morgan. Coquelin clinched the victory for Vanderbilt, taking the match 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3.
“I’m really proud of our guys today,” said Brown. “They’re getting tougher and tougher with each match and I’m not shocked that they pulled out a 4-3 today after losing a 4-3 on Friday. They’ve been consistent all week and we had a really great practice yesterday, fine tuning things from the previous match against Florida. This was a team win, and this whole weekend was about the guys coming together and battling for each other out there.”
“I also want to shout out Hugo Coquelin. When it comes down to the wire, I love having him out there. He lost the clincher on Friday to Florida but today just proves how he comes back and always fights. We’re going to stay focused, stay present and get ready for LSU on Friday and Senior Day as well as the last home match against Georgia on Sunday.”
Singles
1. #19 Samuel (South Carolina) def. #72 Panarin 6-0, 6-0
2. Story (South Carolina) def. Klopper 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Cox (Vanderbilt) def. Daryabeigi 7-5, 6-4
4. Casabon (Vanderbilt) def. Sarr 6-3, 7-5
5. Da Silva (South Carolina) def. Ross 7-5, 6-1
6. Coquelin (Vanderbilt) vs. Morgan 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3
Doubles
1. Da Silva/Story (South Carolina) vs. Klopper/Ross 6-5, unfinished
2. Casabon/Cox (Vanderbilt) def. Samuel/Morgan 7-5
3. Panarin/Coquelin (Vanderbilt) def. Sarr/Daryabeigi 6-4
Up Next: Vanderbilt returns home next weekend, scheduled to compete against No. 37 LSU on Friday and No. 38 Georgia on Sunday before heading to the SEC tournament the following weekend.
