TULSA, Okla. – Rhys Johnson came up just shy of advancing to main draw competition, getting ousted this afternoon by UTSA’s Tomas Stillman, 6-4, 6-2, in the third and final round of qualifiers at the ITA All-American Tennis Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
“Rhys (Johnson) lost to a good player who played an excellent match today”, said associate head coach Jamie Hunt. “There were some things Rhys could have done better, but he learned those lessons and will benefit from today’s match in the future.
As the No. 7 seed, Gonzales Austin begins singles play tomorrow morning in the 64-player draw. The Vandy senior kicks things off against UCLA’s No. 45 Gage Brymer. Last season Brymer went 27-6 overall and 6-6 against nationally ranked players for the Bruins.
In doubles, Johnson and Austin, ranked No. 22 by the ITA, advance to main draw action after defeating Texas A&M’s Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo, 6-2, 6-4. The Vanderbilt tandems team has not dropped a single set thus far in tournament play.
“I’m proud of the way Rhys and A.J. (Austin) have played so far. They beat another very good team today. It is not easy being the top seed and having to win three qualifying matches to get in. If the continue serving well, making tons of volleys, and being opportunistic on return games they can make a nice run in the main draw now too.”
The newly formed doubles team takes on the University of Illinois’ Ross Guignon and Tim Kopinski in the opening round of Thursday’s tournament action. Guignon and Kopinski are currently ranked No. 2 in the country, as well as the No. 2 seed of the tournament.
Austin begins his singles match at 12:30 p.m. with Johnson joining him for doubles at 3 p.m.
