Jan. 26, 2018
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team landed a 4-0 victory over the Portland Pilots in the squad’s first match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
With the victory, the Commodores remain undefeated and have limited four opponents to five team points. Vanderbilt will take on host-team, top-ranked Wake Forest tomorrow at 4 p.m. in the Regional Championship. The Demon Deacons earned their spot in the winner’s bracket, having swept Old Dominion Friday Night.
The winner of tomorrow’s match will advance to next month’s ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships. Washington will serve as hosts for the National Team Indoors and received automatic invitation to the event and are exempt from competing in the Kick-Off Weekend.
The Commodores clinched the doubles point with victories on courts two and three. VU held momentum as it began singles play, taking five of six first sets. The Dores locked down the victory with singles wins by Baker Newman, Billy Rowe and Maxwell Freeman. No. 50 Daniel Valent led 18th-ranked Mike Pervolarakis, 7-6(7), 0-1 at the clinch.
Commodore Notables:
- The last time the Commodores opened the season on a 4-0 run was the 2007-2008 season
- The Dores own victories over Middle Tennessee, Michigan State, Lipscomb and Portland
- George Harwell, Cameron Klinger, Newman, Valent and Panu Virtanen own spotless records while competing in the VU singles lineup
- The last time the Dores faced the No. 1 team in the nation was Feb 3, 2017 against Virginia
- Top-ranked Virginia escaped the Currey Tennis Center with a near 4-3 victory
Surveying the Deacons:
- Wake Forest enters the weekend as the No. 1 team in the Nation
- The Demon Deacons swept Old Dominion 4-0 on Friday
- Wake earned a 30-3 record last season, ending its year as an NCAA quarterfinalist
- Wake Forest boasts five ranked singles players; No. 4 Petros Chrysochos, No. 15 Skander Mansouri, No. 62 Christian Seraphim, No. 83 Yuval Solomon and No. 87 Guanarteme Nuez
• Two pairs of student-athletes made the ITA’s doubles rankings; No. 4 Chrysochos and Mansouri and No. 21Julian Zlobinsky and Seraphim
