NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After placing four student-athletes in the ITA preseason rankings, the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team kicks off its fall season on Friday. The Commodores will compete in two tournaments Friday through Sunday, traveling to the SEC Challenge hosted by Alabama and the Blue Raider Invite at Middle Tennessee.
“To start with last year, I think the program made a good step forward,” head coach Scott Brown said. “Just as far as results go, we went from not making the NCAA Tournament for six years prior and then we made a big improvement, finishing the year ranked 42nd and making it to the NCAA team tournament. And the goal starting this fall is to take where we left off last year and to build on that.”
Despite beginning with the most players ranked in the preseason since 2021, many are taking the court as Commodores for the first time. Vanderbilt will see six combined freshmen and transfers playing this weekend. Included in these new faces, though, is Henry Ruger, an experienced fifth-year transfer out of Columbia who captured 95 career wins for the Lions. He is among the group heading to Alabama to compete in the SEC Challenge.
“The goal [for returning players] is to show the new guys, the freshmen in particular, this is how we operate,” Brown said. “This is how the culture is. This is how the program is. Their job is to lead within the team and show them that kind of mentorship. And with Ruger, he’s probably honestly one of the best natural leaders I’ve seen. I’m actually very grateful having him on our team, because I think he’s going to take the leadership to the next level this season.”
The SEC Challenge brings together eight conference foes in a no-team-scoring tournament, including the defending SEC Tournament champions Kentucky. Albeit a championship-caliber competition to start the year, the Commodores have seen success against some of the tournament teams; Vanderbilt downed Ole Miss on the road and upset No. 21 Auburn 4-3 last season.
“We’re competitive, but we are still keeping the developmental lens on, assessing where we’re at,” said Brown. “It’s a good opportunity, especially the Alabama Invite, which is a really strong tournament with a lot of SEC teams. We’ll get to see where we’re at and also where we need to improve for the next weekend at [ITA] All-Americans.”
Exempt from the road trip is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Danil Panarin, who is preparing for the ITF M15 Futures tournament in Fayetteville, Arkansas from Sept. 16-22. Despite high expectations as a team and for Panarin, Brown is simply focused on the program’s process to start the season.
“The expectation of the program is to be process oriented, focus on the day-to-day, and doing things 100 percent under our control,” Brown said. “Are we doing everything in our power and our control and owning that every day? That’s the goal. And if we bring that consistency, I’m more of a believer the results will take care of themselves.”
SEC Challenge
Format: Compass draw featuring three doubles brackets, two with eight teams and one with four (round robin); doubles teams competing will then play two singles matches with the winner of two matches advancing to the right of the draw
Competing Schools: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Commodores Competing: Tighe Brunetti, Giueseppe Cerasuolo, Dylan Charlap, Hugo Coquelin, Nathan Cox, Callum Markowitz, Michael Ross, Henry Ruger
SEC Challenge matches on the main six outdoor courts, as well as all indoor courts, can be watched here
Blue Raider Invite
Competing Schools: Indiana, Lipscomb, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Commodores Competing: Jack Ingram, Oscar Jensen, Nick Roddy, Paul Wang
