ATHENS, Ga. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team lost a heartbreaker to Alabama, 4-3, Wednesday during its Southeastern Conference Tournament opener.
The Commodores got off to a strong start to win the opening point. Junior Siim Troost and senior Macsen Sisam, ranked 80th nationally, posted their second straight win as a duo on the season after defeating No. 53 Filip Planinsek and Patrick Kaukovalta, 6-4, on the top court. Freshman Michael Ross and sophomore Jeremie Casabon clinched their second doubles point as a duo after a 6-4 win on Court 3.
Sisam and fifth-year senior Max Freeman were the bright spots after doubles, grabbing the only two singles points for the Dores after winning their respective matches.
Seeing Double
- No. 80 Troost and Sisam earned an upset win after defeating No. 53 Planinsek and Kaukovalta of Alabama, 6-4, on the top court. The win marked the duo’s second straight win together on the season, while Troost is 15-8 at the No. 1 doubles spot.
- Ross and Casabon secured the doubles point after a 6-4 win against German Samofalov and Joao Ferreira of the Crimson Tide on Court 3. The victory marked the second doubles point clinched as a duo on the season. Ross has a 15-9 doubles dual record, while Casabon has clinched five doubles points on the season.
- Fifth-year senior George Harwell and junior Joubert Klopper were down 5-4 to Alabama’s Enzo Aguiard and Juan Martin on Court 2 when their match was called.
Tested at Singles
- Alabama handled singles play by winning four out of six courts.
- The Dores continued the momentum as Freeman won the first singles point of the match after defeating Kaukovalta of Alabama in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, on Court 3. After moving up to the No. 3 singles spot last week, Freeman earned his first SEC win on the third court. Vandy had a 2-0 lead at the time.
- The Crimson Tide flipped the momentum to grab wins on Courts 1, 2 and 4 to take the 3-2 lead.
- Sisam earned his eighth straight singles win and second straight in SEC play after defeating Alabama’s Zach Foster in a three-set thriller on Court 6. Foster took the first set without dropping a single point, but Sisam earned the comeback victory after winning a second set tiebreaker, 7-6 (2), pushing to a third and final set win, 6-2. The victory evened the match with the Crimson Tide, 3-3.
- The match clincher came on Court 5 as senior Marcus Ferreira fell in a heartbreaker to Martin of Alabama. After Ferreira came out strong to win the first set, 6-3, Martin won a pair of 6-4 set wins to claim the fourth and final point of the match.
Next Serve
The NCAA Tournament team field will be announced May 2 at 5 p.m. (CT), while the individual field will be released the following day on May 3. Both announcements will be available on NCAA.com.
Dores Lose Heartbreaker in SEC Tournament by Vanderbilt Athletics on on Exposure
