NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The match was a lot closer than the score indicated, but the 19th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team advanced to the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 over Virginia Tech, Friday at the Currey Tennis Center.
Vanderbilt (17-10) will face No. 16 overall seed Columbia on Sunday, May 11 at 1 p.m. The Lions (21-1) picked up a 4-0 win over ETSU earlier in the day to advance to the second round.
The Commodores won the doubles point for the 14th time this season, improving to 13-1 in those matches. After dropping the match at No. 3, Ryan Smith and Suresh Eswaran picked up the 8-4 win at No. 2, setting up the deciding match at one.
With the doubles point on the line, fourth-ranked Ryan Lipman and Gonzales Austin locked in to take down No. 46 Andreas Bjerrehus and Amerigo Contini, 8-4.
After taking the doubles point Vandy jumped out to early leads in singles, winning four of six first sets.
Rhys Johnson put the Commodores up 2-0 winning in straight-sets over Hunter Koontz, 6-2, 6-2. Shortly after Johnson, Eswaran picked up a win of his own to give the VU a 3-0 advantage. The Vandy junior won it 6-4, 7-6(4) at the No. 5 position.
Austin had a chance to put the match away at No. 1, but Tech’s Contini fought back and earned a split, winning 7-5 in the second.
With the momentum headed towards the Hokies, Lipman and Kris Yee earned splits to bring it back to the Commodores.
With tight matches all around it was the freshman Smith who earned a 7-4 win in the second-set breaker to clinch the match for Vanderbilt.
With the win the Commodores advance to the second round for the second-straight season. Last year Vandy won 4-1 over Illinois to advance to its third ever Sweet 16.
#19 Vanderbilt 4, #36 Virginia Tech 0
Singles competition
1. #21 Gonzales Austin (VU) vs. #20 Amerigo Contini (VT) 6-3, 5-7, 2-2, unfinished
2. #59 Ryan Lipman (VU) vs. #92 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT) 6-7 (0-7), 7-6 (7-4), unfinished
3. Kris Yee (VU) vs. Joao Monteiro (VT) 2-6, 6-4, 1-2, unfinished
4. Rhys Johnson (VU) def. Hunter Koontz (VT) 6-2, 6-2
5. Suresh Eswaran (VU) def. Jai Corbett (VT) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Ryan Smith (VU) def. Florian Nicoud (VT) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles competition1. #4 Gonzales Austin/Ryan Lipman (VU) def. #46 Andreas Bjerrehus/Amerigo Contini (VT) 8-4
2. Ryan Smith/Suresh Eswaran (VU) def. Hunter Koontz/Florian Nicoud (VT) 8-4
3. Joao Monteiro/Jai Corbett (VT) def. Rhys Johnson/Pen Binet (VU) 8-1
Match Notes:
Virginia Tech 14-12; National ranking #36
Vanderbilt 17-10; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,5,6)
NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament
First Round
