NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Freshman Joe Dorn found himself swarmed by his teammates after clinching the Commodores’ second conference win with his 7-5, 6-4 win, as Vanderbilt defeated Alabama 5-2.
“It feels great to come through for my team, especially after I’ve lost a few deciding matches in 4-3 contests,” said freshman Joe Dorn. “After doubles, I was really disappointed because I felt like I let Divo (doubles partner Alex DiValerio) down, but I was able to battle back in singles, and even though I didn’t play my best, I was able to win and come out with the victory for the team.”
In doubles, play remained close until the end, with each side battling back up and down the courts. After giving up their early lead on court one, Charlie Jones and Gonzales Austin fought back from a 8-7 deficit to force a tie-break, while their teammates fought one-point matches on courts two and three.
While Blake Bazarnik and Anton Kovrigin dropped their match on court two, Dorn and DiValerio forced a tiebreaker on court three. They roared out to a 5-1 lead in the point before Jones and Austin lost their tiebreaker on one, with Alabama’s Ricky Doverspike and Jarryd Botha clinching the point for the Tide. David Vieyra and Michael Thompson worked back from their deficit and swept the doubles point for the Tide.
“We played badly in doubles,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage, “and to respond after playing that badly, I thought we did a great job. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pretty but we hung tough.”
Austin tied the match up in singles, finishing his match against Botha with a 7-5, 6-3 result. The win makes Austin’s spring season record 11-4 in singles play. The Dores went up 2-1 with Jeff Offerdahl’s 6-2, 6-4 win on court four.
Kovrigin brought Vanderbilt within one point of the victory with his straight-set win on court five, defeating David Vieyra 6-4, 6-2 for a 3-1 lead.
As the battle continued with Jones and Bazarnik splitting their sets, each losing their first and forcing a second, Dorn won on his court for the Dores’ victory.
Bazarnik battled his way through his third set, shooting out to a 3-0 lead before Daniil Proskura came back to tie the match. As the two fought for the point, they forced a tie-breaker in the third, which Bazarnik won 7-5.
“Joe and Blake, in particular, I’m happy for both of them,” said Duvenhage. “Both have been so close in previous matches, and it hasn’t fallen their way, and for them to win today is tremendous.”
“I’m really proud of the freshmen and Blake,” said Dorn. “It was the first time all the underclassmen had won, and even without the victory from Charlie we were able to pull through. I think that says something about the younger members of our team.”
The Commodores, 7-8 (2-3 SEC) head to Auburn for a match against the Tigers on Sunday at 1 p.m. Auburn is ranked the No. 19 team, with a 13-4 (2-2) record, two ranked individuals, and a ranked doubles pair.
Match Notes:
#41 Vanderbilt, 7-8 (2-3)
#61 Alabama, 6-9 (1-4)
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3) Singles (2,4,5,6,1,3)
Results:
Singles:
1. Rickey Doverspike (Alabama) def. #47 Charlie Jones (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 6-7, 6-1
2. Gonzales Austin (Vanderbilt) def. Jarryd Botha (Alabama) 7-5, 6-3
3. Blake Bazarnik (Vanderbilt) def. Daniil Proskura (Alabama) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6
4. Jeff Offerdahl (Vanderbilt) def. Vikram Reddy (Alabama) 6-2, 6-4
5. Anton Kovrigin (Vanderbilt) def. David Vieyra (Alabama) 6-4, 6-2
6. Joe Dorn (Vanderbilt) def. Michael Thompson (Alabama) 7-5, 6-4
Doubles:
1. Doverspike-Botha (Alabama) def. Jones-Austin (Vanderbilt) 9-8 (7-3)
2. Proskura-Reddy (Alabama) def. Bazarnik-Kovrigin (Vanderbilt) 8-6
3. Vieyra-Thompson (Alabama) def. DiValerio-Dorn (Vanderbilt) 9-8 (7-5)
