NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team suffered a 4-3 defeat to South Carolina in its SEC home opener on Thursday.
Freshman Pablo Martinez Gomez and sophomore Danil Panarin opened the match with a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles. The Dores secured the doubles point behind a late surge from freshman Giuseppe Cerasuolo and fifth year Henry Ruger at the No. 3 position. It is the 10th time out of 14 total matches this season Vanderbilt has clinched the doubles point.
In singles, the Commodores went ahead 2-0 after junior Nathan Cox cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Lucas Da Silva at the No. 2 spot. South Carolina evened the match soon after with wins at No. 3 and No. 4 singles. The Gamecocks grabbed their first lead of the match with a comeback win from Casey Hoole, who fended off sophomore Danil Panarin for a 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 result.
No. 5 and No. 6 singles rallied on with the match in the balance. Ruger forced a third set at the No. 5 position after coming back from a 5-1 deficit in the second. Freshman Dylan Charlap took Gabe Avram to a second set tiebreaker after falling in the opener. Avram, however, sealed the match for South Carolina with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) final at No. 6 singles. Ruger collected the last point of the day for Vanderbilt, completing a come-from-behind 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 1-0 (10-1) win over Atakan Karahan.
No. 39 Vanderbilt (8-6, 1-4 SEC) visits No. 28 Pepperdine (7-5, 1-0 WCC) for an 11 a.m. matchup on Sunday. For more information, updates and exclusive game day content, follow the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team, @VandyMTennis, on Instagram and X.
No. 43 South Carolina 4, No. 39 Vanderbilt 3
Doubles
1. No. 26 Da Silva/Connor Thomson (South Carolina) def. No. 28 Cox/Michael Ross (Vanderbilt) 6-3
2. Martinez Gomez/Panarin (Vanderbilt) def. Karahan/Jelani Sarr (South Carolina) 6-4
3. Cerasuolo/Ruger (Vanderbilt) def. Sean Daryabeigi/Hoole (South Carolina) 7-5
Singles
1. Hoole (South Carolina) def. Panarin (Vanderbilt) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
2. Cox (Vanderbilt) def. Da Silva (South Carolina) 6-2, 6-3
3. No. 57 Thomson (South Carolina) def. Ross (Vanderbilt) 7-5, 6-0
4. No. 79 Daryabeigi (South Carolina) def. Martinez Gomez (Vanderbilt) 7-5, 6-3
5. Ruger (Vanderbilt) def. Karahan (South Carolina) 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 1-0 (10-1)
6. Avram (South Carolina) def. Charlap (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,3,4,1,6,5)
