ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 17 Vanderbilt Commodores fell Friday evening to the Georgia Bulldogs, 4-1. With the loss the `Dores own a 15-6 (5-4) record. Georgia remains undefeated in SEC play.
The Commodores suffered two hard losses at the No. 2 and three doubles positions. Nathan Pasha’s serve proved nearly unreturnable, which caused difficulties for the Commodores. Diaz/Pasha came out with the 6-3 win at two. Vanderbilt continued to struggle at the No. 3 spot of the doubles lineup, as the duo of Suresh Eswaran and Daniel Valent fell to Montgomery/Oosterbaan, 6-1.
No. 4 Gonzales Austin and Rhys Johnson faced off against the No. 1 tandem in the country of Smith/Wagland. Having been the top team in the country from Feb. 26th — March 23rd, both teams put on a show with Vanderbilt leading 4-3 when the Bulldogs clinched doubles
Freshman Valent generated the Commodores lone point of the outing. Known for his drive and intensity after falling 6-4 in his first, the Zurich, Switzerland native only allowed one game in both his second and third sets. With the win, Valent ended Pasha’s 10-match win streak, which was the longest current streak in the SEC.
The Commodores three singles losses came on courts two, five, and six. Junior Rhys Johnson battled Smith in a tight match throughout the first set, but UGA came out on top 6-4, 6-3.
After taking the falling to Eswaran 6-4 in the first set, Wood used the loss as motivation as took the second and third sets 6-2, 6-1 respectively. Freshman Baker Newman fell on court six to Oosterbaan 6-1 in the first set, and 6-4 in the second.
Vandy continues league play this Sunday as the Commodores travel to Columbia, S.C. to compete against the Gamecocks at 12:00 CT.
Results:
#5 Georgia 4, #17 Vanderbilt 1
Singles competition
- #28 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) vs. #7 Gonzales Austin (VAN) 4-6, 7-5, 0-1, unfinished
- #31 Austin Smith (UGA) def. Rhys Johnson (VAN) 6-4, 6-3
- Daniel Valent (VAN) def. #18 Nathan Pasha (UGA) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
- Ben Wagland (UGA) vs. Kris Yee (VAN) 3-6, 6-3, unfinished
- Nick Wood (UGA) def. Suresh Eswaran (VAN) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
- Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Baker Newman (VAN) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
- #1 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (UGA) vs. #4 Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson (VAN) 3-4, unfinished
- Eric Diaz/Nathan Pasha (UGA) def. #71 Pen Binet/Baker Newman (VAN) 6-3
- Wayne Montgomery/Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Suresh Eswaran/Daniel Valent (VAN) 6-1
Match Notes:
Vanderbilt 15-6 (5-4); National ranking #17
Georgia 16-2 (8-0); National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,6,3,5)
Official: Clark Weaver T-2:08 A-567
