NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt men’s tennis got back in the win column on Thursday, fending off Middle Tennessee 4-3 at the Lummis Family Tennis Center.
“Today was a good, gutsy 4-3 win for us,” head coach Scott Brown said. “Credit to MTSU, I was really impressed with their fight. They didn’t give up, and they made the match very interesting there at the end. Head coach Jimmy [Borendame] and his staff and his team, we’ve got a lot of respect for them. They compete hard, they’re well organized, and they’re very professional. They gave us a good battle today.”
The Blue Raiders were the first to strike behind controlling doubles play. Despite a 6-0 sweep from No. 42 junior Danil Panarin and freshman Jack Satterfield, Middle Tennessee grabbed a win at No. 1 doubles to even things up. At Court 2, senior Nathan Cox and sophomore Callum Markowitz fell short, 6-3, to Eric Crave and Jonasz Dziopak. The result marked the second straight doubles point won by the Blue Raiders, while Vandy has now dropped three in a row.
As he has done consistently throughout the season, Cox set the tone in singles play. The senior pulled away in the first set 6-1 against Antoine Mayoral before getting the Dores on the board with a 6-4 second set to seal the win. Satterfield provided Vanderbilt its first advantage of the contest moments later, defeating Crivei 6-4, 6-1 at No. 4 singles. Freshman Hoyoung Roh bounced back from a doubles loss, downing Karim Al-Amin 7-5, 6-2 to push the score to 3-1 in favor of the Commodores. Each of the ongoing matches went the distance as Middle Tennessee took a second set at each remaining court. After back-and-forth play, it was Panarin at Court 3 who clinched the match for Vandy, fending off Dziopak 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Middle Tennessee notched wins at No. 1 and No. 6 singles to finish with three points.
“We had a little bit of a slow start at doubles, and that’s something to work on for Virginia on Sunday,” Brown said. “But I thought we had a lot of positives. I was really impressed with how our guys responded on all five courts after losing that doubles point. We went up 3-1 quickly, MTSU bit back, and it was just college tennis from there: momentum shifts, intensity, everything. I think we could have done better at closing some of those singles matches out, but I’m still super proud of the guys.
“Every match, no matter where or who we’re playing, we want to bring certain non-negotiables,” Brown continued. “How you go about your business, your attitude, your effort, your energy. We just have to stay present and go match-by-match. Thank you to all of the fans for making your presence felt today, and we’re looking forward to another battle on Sunday.”
It is the second time in three season Brown has led the Commodores to a 5-1 start, marking the first time since 2019-20 and 2021-22 the team has done so in that time frame. Under Brown, Vanderbilt moves to 22-7 against nonconference opponents, including a 17-2 home record against such teams.
The Dores shift their focus on a road trip to Charlottesville, Virginia, where they will visit Boar’s Head Sports Club to face the No. 2 ranked Cavaliers at 11 a.m. CT (noon ET). For more information, updates and exclusive game day content, follow the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team, @VandyMTennis, on Instagram and X.
Vanderbilt 4, Middle Tennessee 3
Doubles
1. No. 18 Ondrej Horak/Al-Amin [Middle Tennessee] def. Pablo Martinez Gomez/Hoyoung [Vanderbilt] 7-5
2. Crivei/Dziopak [Middle Tennessee] def. Cox/Markowitz [Vanderbilt] 6-3
3. No. 42 Panarin/Satterfield [Vanderbilt] def. Birtan Duran/Mayoral [Middle Tennessee] 6-0
Singles
1. Horak [Middle Tennessee] def. No. 62 Martinez Gomez [Vanderbilt] 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2
2. Hoyoung [Vanderbilt] def. Al-Amin [Middle Tennessee] 7-5, 6-2
3. Panarin [Vanderbilt] def. Dziopak [Middle Tennessee] 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
4. Satterfield [Vanderbilt] def. Crivei [Middle Tennessee] 6-4, 6-1
5. Cox [Vanderbilt] def. Mayoral [Middle Tennessee] 6-1, 6-4
6. Freddy Murray [Middle Tennessee] def. Markowitz [Vanderbilt] 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (12-10)
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,4,2,3,1,6)
