Oct. 22, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team travels down to Auburn, Ala. this weekend for the annual SEC Fall Classic hosted this season by the Auburn Tigers at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The Commodores will compete against Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee. Kentucky and TAMU will not be in attendance, while Missouri only fields a women’s tennis team.
Representing the Dores as the No. 1 seed in the singles tournament is sophomore Daniel Valent, who has compiled a 6-3 fall record thus far with wins over two ranked players, VT’s No. 28 Bjerrehus and Alabama’s No. 96 Lovett.
Currently ranked No. 49 in the country, Valent was named a member of the 2015 SEC All-Freshman team and earned Second Team All-SEC honors. The Zurich, Switzerland native enjoys a first-round bye, and plays the winner of O’Keefe (SC) and Braun (MSU) Friday at 2:00 pm CT.
Senior Rhys Johnson also earned a tournament seed, as he begins play against MSU’s Vaughn Hunter at 10:00 pm CT as the sixth-seeded competitor. Other Vanderbilt contenders include Baker Newman, Ryan Smith and freshman Cameron Klinger who will be making his collegiate tennis debut.
In doubles action, Pen Binet joins Johnson as the third-seeded duo, and have a bye into Saturday’s quarterfinal where they face the winner of a matchup between Auburn and Arkansas. In addition, the junior/sophomore tandem of Smith and Newman team up to take on Alabama’s Richey/Edwards in Friday’s round of 16 at 9:00 am.
Last season Johnson advanced the furthest of anyone on the squad, making it to tournament quarterfinals, but falling to the Gator’s Elliot Orkin 6-3, 6-2. Other notable performance for the Dores include Kris Yee’s performance in consolation rounds, making it all the way to semifinals without dropping a set.
