NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team kicked off the 2016 Commodore Scramble on Friday morning going undefeated in all 16 singles matches.
“It was a good day,” said associate head coach Jamie Hunt. “We still value improving over winning, and we feel like we can do both. That’s our process right now, just focusing on improving every day. But even with the 16 wins, there’s still a lot to improve on. We’ll look to pick up where we left off tomorrow in singles and do a little better in doubles.”
For Panu Virtanen and Billy Rowe, Friday’s competition was the first time the freshman class was able to compete on their home courts for the black and gold. Virtanen, a native of Helsinki, Finland, went undefeated in doubles and singles, while Rowe suffered just one loss on the day in a tough 8-6 doubles battle with Cameron Klinger against Louisville’s Wynn/Donohue.
The ‘Dores began the day with a round of doubles going 2-2. Vandy’s Daniel Valent and Tate Allwardt served up a commanding 8-2 defeat over Belmont’s Russo/Niel. The Bruin’s Dujacquier/Goldman tested Virtanen and junior Baker Newman, but the Commodore pair pulled off the 8-6 victory.
In singles the ‘Dores put on dominant performances the entire day, defeating student-athletes from every school in tournament contention. Vanderbilt was only taken to three three set matches, with Vikram Chari, Rowe and Virtanen all holding on to keep the VU streak alive.
Down 5-1 in the first set against Belmont’s Russo, junior Tate Allwardt forced his way back into the competition, taking the next six games and the match, 7-5, 7-5.
Ranked 21st in the country, Valent only allowed two games in each of his singles victories. The junior defeated Tennessee Tech’s Marcos Bernardes, 6-0, 6-2 before taking down Louisville’s Parker Wynn 6-1, 6-1. Alex Ross also limited his opponent in his second match of the day, downing Lipscomb’s George Wong, 6-1, 6-1.
Vandy will be back out on the courts tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. for one round of doubles and singles. After a brief lunch break, student-athletes will begin a second round of singles at 2 p.m.
Doubles
Wynn/Donohue (LOU) def. Klinger/Rowe (VU); 8-6
Newman/Virtanen (VU) def. Dujacquier/Goldman (BEL); 8-6
Valent/Allwardt (VU) def. Russo/Niel (BEL); 8-2
Cardenas/Minet (LIP) def. Ross/Chari (VU); 8-5
AM Singles
Daniel Valent (VU) def. Marcos Bernardes (TN Tech); 6-0, 6-2
Billy Rowe (VU) def. Philippe Courteau (Lip); 6-3, 6-3
Panu Virtanen (VU) def. Victor Chaw (LIP); 6-4, 6-1
Cameron Klinger (VU) def. Jorge Alsfonzo (TN Tech); 7-6(2), 6-2
Alex Ross (VU) def. Michael Quang (LOU); 7-5, 6-4
Baker Newman (VU) def. Guillermo Nicolas (TN Tech); 7-5, 6-2
Vikram Chari (VU) def. Stephen Goldman (BEL); 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
Tate Allwardt (VU) def. Clement Filho (LOU); 6-4, 6-4
PM Singles
Daniel Valent (VU) def. Parker Wynn (LOU); 6-1, 6-1
Cameron Klinger (VU) def. Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore (MT); 6-2, 6-3
Alex Ross (VU) def. George Wong (LIP); 6-1,6-1
Baker Newman (VU) def. Rob Mitchell (LIP); 6-1, 6-3
Vikram Chari (VU) def. Thias Minet (LIP); 6-1, 6-2
Panu Virtanen (VU) def. Philippe Courteau (LIP); 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
Billy Rowe (VU) def. Gian Issa (MT); 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
Tate Allwardt (VU) def. Bruno Russo (BEL); 7-5, 7-5
