ATHENS, Ga. – In his first tournament as a Commodore, freshman Baker Newman advanced all the way to the Division III singles finals at the Southern Intercollegiates in Athens, Georgia. The Miami, Florida native faced off against Clemson University’s Christian Harris this afternoon at 4 p.m.. Harris, a freshman out of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, was noted as a four-star recruit and ranked No. 50 by tennisrecruiting.net. Newman got off to a huge lead, shutting Harris out in a 6-0 victory in the first game, but ultimately fell in the second and third games; 6-1, 6-4.
Joining Newman in the Division I doubles semifinals this afternoon was sophomore Ryan Smith. The new team of Smith and Newman, after a well played tournament, fell 6-3, 6-3 to Tennessee’s senior, Andrew Dromsky and freshman, Igor Smelyanski. The fifth seeded Tennessee tandems team went on to defeat Georgia Tech’s third seeded duo of Christopher Eubanks and Nathan Rakitt to win the tournament Division I doubles championship. Eubanks and Rakitt faced Vandy’s Pen Binet and Rhys Johnson previously in the tournament in the round of 32.
The Vanderbilt Commodores are back in action this upcoming weekend as they travel Gainesville for the SEC Fall Classic.
