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Dores Grab Doubles but Fall to Gators, 4-1 5/15/2005 The No. 38 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team fell, 4-1 to No. 3 Florida on their home courts in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon in Gainesville, Fla. “It was so tight and the guys played so tough,” said Interim Head Coach Eddie Coates. “We put some fear in them today. The doubles point was such a boost for us. We have had trouble winning the doubles point all year and to come down here against a huge Florida crowd and get a win is huge. The guys stepped up. We stole the point from them. We let them know we were a different team.” The Commodores got on the board first with wins at Nos. 1 and 3 to claim the doubles point from the Gators. At the No. 1 slot, the No. 12 VU pairing of Scott Brown and Jason Pinsky upset the No. 8 Gator pairing of Hamid Mirzadeh and Greg Oullette, 8-5. The Gators took the matchup at the second slot, but the Commodores clinched the point on the strength of freshman Ryan Preston and senior Matt Lockin’s tremendous victory in the intense tiebreaker at No. 3, 9-8 (3). Florida evened the match, claiming the first showdown of the singles draw at the second slot. UF’s No. 49 Oullette outlasted VU’s Pinsky in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. The Gators grabbed the lead for the first time with Ryan Sherry’s win over Vanderbilt’s Evan Dufaux at the No. 6 position, 6-4, 6-2. Florida went on to grab the next two points and clinch the match with wins at Nos. 1 and 3. At No. 1 VU senior Brown was tripped by UF’s Mirzadeh in two tough sets, 7-6(3), 6-4. Fellow VU senior Matt Lockin split the first two sets with Florida’s Vladimir Obradovic, but UF prevailed in the final stanza, 6-3. VU’s Preston was leading his match at the fourth position, 5-3 in the final set before the Gators claimed their fourth point. Vanderbilt’s Nathan Sachs was tied in the final frame of his showdown at No. 5 when the match was halted. “They did everything I asked of them,” said Coates. “The guys just came up a little short against the No. 3 team in the country. They left everything on the court and I am so proud of them. It was a very positive trip overall.” The Commodores finish the 2005 campaign with an overall record of 13-12. The Dores dropped Georgia Tech in the First Round, 4-3 to get their shot at the Gators. |
