Dores Drop Road Opener

Vanderbilt men's tennis suffers first defeat of spring season, falls 5-2 to No. 23 Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team dropped its road opener 5-2 to No. 23 Michigan State on Sunday.

The Commodores gained control early in doubles. Sophomore Hugo Coquelin and fifth year Henry Ruger dismantled Michigan State’s No. 66 Taym Alazmeh and Danial Rakhmatullayev 6-1. Soon after, Junior Nathan Cox and senior Michael Ross clinched the doubles point for Vandy with a 6-3 victory over Ozan Baris and Vuk Radjenovic.

Sparty regained momentum in singles play, capturing wins in the first five matchups to seal the match result. Ross notched the lone singles victory for Vanderbilt, outlasting Radjenovic 6-3, 6 (5)-7, 6-3 to remain unbeaten in spring singles play. Ross improves to an 8-2 singles record in total this season.

The Dores return to play Saturday, Jan. 25 at ITA Kickoff Weekend in Durham, North Carolina. Vanderbilt (2-1) is set to face Cornell (0-1) in its first match of the event. For more information, updates, and exclusive game day content, follow the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team, @VandyMTennis, on Instagram and X.

No. 23 Michigan State 5, Vanderbilt 2

Doubles
1. Cox/Ross (Vanderbilt) def. Baris/Radjenovic (Michigan State) 6-3
2. Martinez Gomez/Panarin (Vanderbilt) vs. No. 107 Forbes/Sheldon (Michigan State), 4-2 match unfinished
3. Coquelin/Ruger (Vanderbilt) def. No. 66 Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (Michigan State) 6-1

Singles
1. No. 8 Baris (Michigan State) def. No. 100 Cox (Vanderbilt) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
2. No. 27 Thanos (Michigan State) def. Panarin (Vanderbilt) 7-6 (5), 6-1
3. Ross (Vanderbilt) def. Radjenovic (Michigan State) 6-3, 6 (5)-7, 6-3
4. No. 40 Forbes (Michigan State) def. Coquelin (Vanderbilt), 4-3 ret.
5. Alazmeh (Michigan State) def. Martinez Gomez (Vanderbilt) 6-0, 7-6 (5)
6. Rakhmatullayev (Michigan State) def. Ruger (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 7-5

(Order of finish: Doubles 3, 1 / Singles 4, 5, 6, 2, 1, 3)