NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 27 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team ended regular season play on Sunday, falling 4-1 at the hands of No. 35 South Carolina at the Currey Tennis Center. The lone point of the day came from senior Ryan Lipmanat No. 2 singles. Prior to the match the Commodores honored the lone senior.
Vanderbilt (14-9, 5-7 SEC) will host the 2014 Southeastern Conference Men’s Tennis Tournament beginning on April 16. Match seeding and times are still to be determined.
The Commodores started the day off on the wrong foot, dropping the doubles point to the Gamecocks.
Shortly after Vandy’s three’s of Rhys Johnson and Pen Binet took the opening match 8-4, third-ranked Gonzales Austin and Ryan Lipman fell at No. 1, 8-3, to Mihov/Cox. With doubles at one a piece, South Carolina clinched the point with a 8-4 win at No. 2 over Ryan Smith and Suresh Eswaran.
In singles play the Commodores couldn’t match the intensity of the Gamecocks.
Vanderbilt dropped three first sets, at one, three and five. South Carolina took two of those matches in the straight-sets. Johnson fell at No. 5 despite playing a tough second set, and Austin fell at No. 1 to 70th-ranked Andrew Adams.
The lone point of the day for the Commodores came from the teams lone senior, Ryan Lipman. On his Senior Day, Lipman cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 78 Tsvetan Mihov to start singles play for the Dores.
Following Lipman’s win the Commodores dropped its match at five, a three-setter at No. 4 against Jeffrey Offerdahland finally the clinker at No. 1 against Austin.
Kris Yeeand Eswaran both went unfinished leading in the third and final set.
Vanderbilt will open SEC tournament play on Thursday, April 17. Both the time and opponent are still to be determined.
Stay tuned to VUCommodores.com for complete coverage of the SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament.
#35 South Carolina 4, #27 Vanderbilt 1
Singles competition
1. #75 Andrew Adams (SC) def. #19 Gonzales Austin (VU) 7-5, 6-4
2. #60 Ryan Lipman (VU) def. #78 Tsvetan Mihov (SC) 6-2, 6-2
3. Kris Yee (VU) vs. Thiago Pinheiro (SC) 3-6, 6-1, 1-0, unfinished
4. Chip Cox (SC) def. Jeffrey Offerdahl (VU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
5. Kyle Koch (SC) def. Rhys Johnson (VU) 6-0, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Suresh Eswaran (VU) vs. Andrew Shafer (SC) 6-3, 2-6, 4-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Tsvetan Mihov/Chip Cox (SC) def. #3 Gonzales Austin/Ryan Lipman (VU) 8-3
2. Andrew Adams/Kyle Koch (SC) def. Ryan Smith/Suresh Eswaran (VU) 8-4
3. Rhys Johnson/Pen Binet (VU) def. Sam Swank/Thiago Pinheiro (SC) 8-4
Match Notes:
South Carolina 13-12, 5-7 SEC; National ranking #35
Vanderbilt 14-9, 5-7 SEC; National ranking #27
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,5,4,1)
T-3:08
