COLUMBIA, S.C. – Vanderbilt men’s tennis returned to Southeastern Conference play on the road with a trip to 10th-ranked South Carolina, falling to the home Gamecocks 6-1 Friday evening.
“South Carolina deserves credit for never allowing us to sink our teeth into the match, enough to make it interesting,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage.
Junior Siim Troost grabbed the lone point for the Commodores in the matchup, securing a win on Court 6 in straight sets. In Singles play, Troost holds a 12-5 dual record on the season and is 6-2 in SEC play.
With the loss, the Dores now stand at 14-7 on the season and 2-6 in SEC play as they continue their challenging road trip to Gainesville, Florida, where they will face the top-ranked Gators on Sunday.
Seeing Double
- The Gamecocks clinched the doubles point with wins on the top two courts Friday evening.
- The Dores got off to a slow start after fifth-year senior duo George Harwell and Max Freeman dropped the doubles on Court 2 to Raphael Lambling and James Story of South Carolina, 6-1.
- The Gamecocks took the doubles point as Troost and freshman Michael Ross, ranked 80th nationally, fell to No. 13 Daniel Rodrigues and Connor Thomson of South Carolina, 6-2.
- Senior Macsen Sisam and sophomore Jeremie Casabon were down 4-3 to their South Carolina opponents when their match was called.
Sights on Singles
- South Carolina dominated singles play, winning five of the six courts.
- On Court 3, the Dores fell 2-0 against the Gamecocks with senior Marcus Ferreira falling in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0, to South Carolina’s Thomson.
- The Gamecocks continued their hot streak, making it 3-0 in favor of the host team, after Freeman fell to South Carolina’s Lambling in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3, on Court 4.
- South Carolina clinched the match with a win on Court 2. Junior Joubert Klopper fought-hard in the first set, but ultimately fell to 57th-ranked Toby Samuel, 6-4, 6-0.
- Casabon fell to his South Carolina competition, 6-4, 7-5, on Court 5, as the Gamecocks extended the lead, 5-0.
- Troost grabbed Vandy’s only point of the match at No. 6 singles with a pair of wins in straight sets over South Carolina’s Carter Morgan, 6-3 and 7-5.
- Harwell, ranked 44th-nationally, battled hard against top three Daniel Rodrigues, but ultimately lost a two-set match on the top court to conclude Friday’s match. After dropping the first set, 6-4, Harwell tested Rodrigues in a second-set tiebreaker, but fell short, 7-6 (5).
On Deck
The Dores conclude their SEC road challenge with a Sunday match at top-ranked Florida. Vandy is set to take on the Gators for a noon (CT) contest in Gainesville.
