NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After a very successful day out on the Courts at the UTSA/ITA Ohio Valley Regionals, the Vanderbilt Commodores have four singles players in Saturday’s quarterfinals action. Vanderbilt boasts one doubles team still vying for the title in tournament quarterfinals. A total of 170 matches have been played so far this tournament.
“I thought it was another good day for us,” said Vanderbilt head coach Ian Duvenhage. “I think we were something like 15-4 on the day today. It’s really good to see us have four guys in the quarterfinals. I thought AJ (Austin) did a good job. Rhys (Johnson) and Kris (Yee) both did great jobs. Danny (Valent) won a really tough match here, 7-6 in the third. I also am happy about the fact that in three set matches where we lost the first set, we are now 9-1. So the guys are really improving in that department. We just have to keep at it. The tournament is not over and this is no time to get complacent. We have to keep plugging away.”
Last year Rhys Johnson was the sole Commodore in regional quarterfinals, this year the team has added three more competitors to the tournament draw in, Kris Yee, Daniel Valent, and No. 9 Gonzales Austin.
For the first time in the tournament two Commodores face each other, as No. 90 Johnson takes on No. 9 Austin. Freshman Daniel Valent competes against Memphis’ Ryan Peniston after knocking out the No. 7 seeded Alex Arovin out of Tennessee Tech and a very physical match against Tennessee’s Igor Smelyanski. Peniston, a freshman, defeated the tournament’s No. 4 seed during his journey to the quarters.
Kris Yee was one match shy of making it to the quarterfinals in the 2014 regional. This year Yee goes to the quarterfinals off of a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over the No. 5 seeded Sam Monette out of Indiana. On Saturday the junior faces another freshman out of Memphis, Andrew Watson.
Throughout the day all Commodores showed resilience on and off the court. Freshman Baker Newman defeated the No. 2 seed from rival school Tennessee, 6-4, 6-4. Both freshman in singles play, Newman and Valent, bumped out top-10 seeds today.
The effort displayed in doubles was no different, with Yee and Jeffrey Offerdahl falling in a close 8-6 match to the No. 1 seed and No. 13 ranked duo of Monette and Bednarczyk out of Indiana.
“Probably the biggest thing we’ve been working on the last couple of week is that when we came back from the tournament in Florida we just felt that we weren’t a very tough team. So we’ve work on our mental toughness and I can see in a short period of time already there are big improvements. We’re not there yet, but we’re going to keep working on it. I see a lot of progress on how we carry ourselves on the court; our body language is better, and our self-talk is more positive.”
Saturday’s play begins with quarterfinals and third round singles consolation matches at 9 a.m. at the Currey Tennis Center. Quarterfinal doubles will begin later, followed by single semifinals. Match play wraps up with semifinal doubles.
Vanderbilt Results:
Doubles – 2nd Round:
Yates/Lai (UK) def. Newman/Smith (Vandy); 8-4
Offerdahl/Yee (Vandy) def. Reese/Sawicki (UT); 8-6
Austin/Johnson (Vandy) def. Mena/Cintas (TN Tech); 8-4
Doubles – 3rd round
Monette/Bednarczyk (IU) def. Offerdahl/Yee (Vandy); 8-6
Austin/Johnson (Vandy) def. Bushamuka/Minc (UK); 8-5
Singles – 3rd Round:
Gonzales Austin (Vandy) def. Jess Jones (UT); 6-2, 6-1
Rhys Johnson (Vandy) def. William Bushamuka (UK); 6-2, 6-3
Kris Yee (Vandy) def. Chris Essick (IU); 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
Daniel Valent (Vandy) def. Alex Arovin (TN Tech); 6-4, 6-2
Albert Wagner (Louisville) def. Jeffrey Offerdahl (Vandy); 6-1, 6-1
Baker Newman (Vandy) def. Hunter Reese (UT); 6-4, 6-4
Singles – 4th round
Gonzales Austin (Vandy) def. Beck Pennington (UK); 6-7(0), 6-3, 7-6(6)
Rhys Johnson (Vandy) def. Albert Wagner (Louisville); 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Daniel Valent (Vandy) def. Igor Smelyanski (UT); 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Andrew Watson (Memphis) def. Baker Newman (Vandy); 6-3, 6-4
Kris Yee (Vandy) def. Samuel Monette (IU); 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
Consolation – First Round:
Tate Allwardt (Vandy) def. Jan Jirus (BSU); 6-1, 7-5
Pen Binet (Vandy) def. Jody Maginley (NKU); 6-1, 6-3
Consolation – Second Round:
Kevin Lai (UK) def. Pen Binet (Vandy); 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
Tate Allwardt (Vandy) def. Michael Moe (Xavier); 6-1, 6-3
