Tuscaloosa, Ala. — Vanderbilt men’s tennis went undefeated during its last weekend of regular season play, earning their second upset in a row in a 4-2 victory over the No. 34 Alabama Crimson Tide. VU also faced Lipscomb in T-Town, defeating the Bisons 4-0.
“The Alabama win was special for us,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “We were really in command of doubles, up a break on all three courts, but just we couldn’t convert so we lost the doubles point. Rhys kind of tweaked something in doubles, so we took him out of singles… and I just told the guys that they could make a special memory if we can find a way to still win the match. They just all responded and did a great job.”
The Crimson Tide took the early lead, attaining a tight doubles point with wins on courts two then one. The Commodores’ Pen Binet and Daniel Valent earned their second league victory on court three in a 7-5 victory over Richey/Roussouw.
A huge effort on court one by No. 40 Valent leveled the score for the black and gold as the sophomore earned his 60th career victory and 16th this spring in a 6-1, 6-2 defeat over No. 50 Mazen Osama.
An inspired Commodore effort echoed throughout the lineup, as Baker Newman generated VU a 2-1 lead just as Klinger split on two with Alex Ross and Binet leading in their final sets on courts five and six.
Bama evened the score to 2-all as Kris Yee fell on court four to Richey in a tough three setter, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3. While the senior lost, the Commodore’s situation was looking bright as both Ross and Binet were on match point.
Ross, a freshman, gave VU the 3-2 edge, earning a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory on court five. The victory was Ross’ first league win on court five in his debut season. Binet earned his first career SEC victory, which results in a Commodore clinch. The junior earned a huge 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Hills on court six.
Vandy’s day wasn’t quite over as the squad had one more opponent left, the Lipscomb Bisons. Only playing singles, Vandy established immediate dominance, earning five of six first set victories. The `Dores wrapped up the regular season taking courts one, three, four and five with Ross coming up with the clinch.
Vandy heads east to Columbia, South Carolina on Wednesday as the `Dores are the No. 7 seed of the SEC tournament. VU takes on the tenth-seeded LSU Tigers Thursday, April 21st at 10:00 am.
“It’s going to be a short week. The guys will have their usual day off tomorrow and then we’ll get a short practice in on Tuesday and then hit the road. We’ll probably practice twice on Wednesday and get ready to play LSU on Thursday. I think at this point we’re getting better, and I feel like we can beat anybody.”
Lipscomb Results:
1) No. 40 Daniel Valent (VU) def. Mitchell (LU); 6-0, 6-2
2) No. 97 Cameron Klinger (VU) led Manzanares (LU); 6-4, 6-5
3) Rhys Johnson (VU) def. Courteau (LU); 6-3, 6-4
4) Baker Newman (VU) def. Cardenas (LU); 6-3, 6-1
5) Alex Ross (VU) def. Minet (LU); 6-4, 6-4
6) Tate Allwardt (VU) vs. Linardi (LU); 6-7, 4-2
Finish: 1, 4, 3, 5*
