NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt men’s tennis broke its three-match losing streak on Thursday at the Currey Tennis Center by taking down LSU, 5-2.
The Commodores opened the match slowly, dropping the doubles point to the Tigers.
Commodore pair Max Freeman and Macsen Sisam fell on Court 2, 6-3, followed by Dore duo George Harwell and Christiaan Worst coming up short on Court 3, 6-4, to hand LSU an early 1-0 advantage.
“We have struggled with doubles all year but just as we did in previous matches, we came out strong in singles to change the momentum and ultimately win the match,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage.
Ready to make a comeback in singles, Cameron Klinger, the nation’s 77th-ranked player, gained an early lead over LSU’s Shane Monroe to conquer the first set, 6-1. The senior remained confident in the second set to earn a straight-set victory over Monroe, 6-1, 6-4, tying the match for the Dores, 1-1.
Pushing the Commodores to the lead, freshman Marcus Ferreira stepped up on Court 6 to defeat LSU’s Nick Watson in a fast-paced, 6-4, 6-3 win.
Freshman Macsen Sisam battled on Court 4, holding LSU’s Malik Bhathager to only one game, earning a 6-1 victory in the first set. In a close 6-6 tiebreak, Sisam shut out Bhathager to earn a 7-6 (0) win.
With the Dores leading 3-1, junior Billy Rowe secured the first set on Court 3, 6-1, over LSU’s Bortis Kozlov. Rowe fell short in the second set, 2-6. However, he stepped up in the second to hold Kozlov to one game, clinching the match for the Commodores, 4-1.
“We are particularly proud of Billy Rowe and his performance today to earn the clinch. He is working on an impressive season,” said Duvenhage.
The remaining courts played out with Harwell in a close battle, and junior Panu Virtanen looking to make a comeback in his match. Both courts split sets, entering into a 10-point set tiebreaker. Harwell defeated LSU’s Rafael Wagnor, 7-5, 6-7, 1-0 (7) to advance the Dores’ lead to 5-1.
Virtanen fell on Court 6 to mark Vanderbilt’s final score, 5-2.
Thursday’s victory marks the Commodores’ fourth conference and 14th overall win, bumping their record to 14-7.
Vanderbilt is back in action on Saturday when it faces No. 8 Texas A&M at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center at 1 p.m. CT.
Keep up with the Dores in College Station by following @VandyMTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
