Dores Down Razorbacks in SEC Victory

Men’s tennis earns first conference win since March 2020

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team defeated Arkansas 5-2 Sunday in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to notch its first Southeastern Conference win since March 6, 2020.

After Vandy picked up the doubles point to open the match, there was a 14-minute delay during singles play to move the match indoors due to inclement weather. The Commodores posted four singles wins over Arkansas, including two ranked wins on Courts 3 and 6, respectively.

“It was a very good win under very difficult conditions,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “I’m really proud of the way our team handled themselves.”

The last time the Dores won over the Razorbacks was March 14, 2019, in a highly contested 4-3 match on The Hill. With the SEC win, Vandy now stands at 8-2 on the season as they head into a three-match week.

Doubles Dub

  • Junior Siim Troost and freshman Michael Ross dropped a quick doubles match on the top court to their Arkansas opposition.
  • Seniors George Harwell and Max Freeman teamed up to beat No. 47 Adrien Burdet and Melvin Manuel, 6-2.
  • Coming down to Court 3, senior Marcus Ferreira and junior Joubert Klopper clinched the opening point after defeating their Razorback opponents, 6-2.

Sensational Singles

  • The momentum continued in favor of the Dores as Freeman put the first singles point on the board after a pair of 6-4 set wins, on Court 4.
  • At No. 6 singles, Troost grabbed his first-ranked singles win of the season after defeating No. 37 Aleksa Bucan with a pair of 6-4 set wins.
  • On Court 3, Ferreira clinched the match with a tightly contested two-set thriller over No. 119 Oscar Pinto Sansano of Arkansas. After taking set one, 6-2, the senior called the match with an elusive second set tiebreaker, 7-6 (4).
  • Klopper grabbed the fifth and final point for the Dores on Court 2 after defeating his Arkansas opposition in straight sets. The junior fought hard in a first set tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), before a decisive 6-2 win in the second set.
  • The Razorbacks closed singles play with wins on Courts 1 and 5 to make the final score, 5-2, in favor of the Dores.

Next Serve

Vandy is set for a trio of matches this week, starting with a mid-week match against Big Ten foe and No. 12 Northwestern Wednesday. The Dores will continue SEC play on the road to take on Texas A&M Friday before returning home to close out the weekend against Drake.

The match against the Wildcats was previously set for Feb. 20, while the Bulldogs were originally scheduled for Feb. 4.