NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team will host four matches this weekend with doubleheaders on Friday and Sunday at the Currey Tennis Center.
The Commodores will take on a pair of Music City foes Friday, starting with Belmont at 2 p.m., followed by Tennessee State at 6 p.m. They round out the weekend with Big Ten foe Northwestern at noon on Sunday before returning to the courts to face Tennessee State again at 4 p.m.
The Dores enter the weekend with a 4-0 record on the season, highlighted by wins over Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.
Admission to all matches is free of charge and parking is available on floors 9-11 of the 25th Avenue Garage (enter from Highland Avenue).
Debriefing
Vanderbilt swept the competition during last Sunday’s doubleheader, walking away with a pair of home victories. The Commodores battled to take the first match of the day over Virginia Tech before a sweep over The Citadel to pick up their second win of the day.
Vandy started last Sunday morning with a hard-fought 4-3 win over the visiting Hokies. At top doubles, Siim Troost and Michael Ross teamed up to defeat No. 21 Jordan Chrysostom and Ryan Fishback of Virginia Tech, before George Harwell and Max Freeman secured the doubles point. The Dores won three singles matches with Joubert Klopper clinching the match in a two-set thriller, 7-6 (2), 6-4, on Court 2.
The Dores followed it up with a 7-0 sweep over the Bulldogs to improve 4-0 on the year. After securing the quick doubles point, Troost clinched the match in his first singles win of the 2022 season. Returning to singles play, Ross completed the sweep with strong 6-3 and 6-1 set wins on Court 6.
Scouting the Opponents
- Belmont (3-2): The Bruins look to bounce-back after a two-match losing streak following losses against Furman and University of North Carolina at Asheville. Vanderbilt opened last season against Belmont with a 6-1 victory at the Currey Tennis Center.
- Tennessee State (0-6): The Tigers look for their first win of the season after a six-match losing streak to begin their spring campaign. Last season, the Dores defeated all of its Nashville opposition (Belmont, Lipscomb and Tennessee State) after a 7-0 shutout victory over the Tigers.
- Northwestern (10-2): The last time both teams met was the 2020 season when the Dores made the trip to Evanston, Illinois, and were swept by the Wildcats, 7-0. Northwestern is on a six-match winning streak heading to the Music City. A pair of Wildcats seniors improved in the latest ITA singles rankings with Trice Pickens at No. 55, while Simen Bratholm sits at No. 79.
ITA Rankings Revamped
- Fifth-year senior and No. 1 singles player, George Harwell, improved to No. 26 in singles.
- 2 singles player Joubert Klopper, a junior from Bloemfontein, South Africa, also received an individual ranking at No. 94.
What They’re Saying
Head Coach Ian Duvenhage
“It’s another good weekend of competition. [Head] coach [Mauricio] Antun has done a great job with the Belmont program, and they will test us. Northwestern will give us an opportunity to play a top-25 caliber team to see just where we are at this point of the season.”
Next Serve
The Dores travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts next weekend where they are set to face a pair of non-conference opponents. Their road test starts with host Harvard on Feb. 25 before a bout with Cornell the following day.
