GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After a hard fought weekend in Gainesville, Florida at the SEC Fall Classic, junior Rhys Johnson fell Sunday afternoon to host school’s Elliot Orkin, 6-3, 6-2.
While making it to the quarterfinals is a feat in itself, the way Johnson got there is also impressive. The No. 90 native from Perth, Australia took down the No. 21 singles player in the country, Hunter Reese out of archrival Tennessee, in a hard fought tiebreak set, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6. Reese was the SEC Fall Classic’s third seed in the tournament’s singles division.
Orkin, currently ranked No. 68 by ITA, faced Vanderbilt’s very own Ryan Smith in the first round of competition as the No. 8 seed in the tournament before defeating Johnson. Orkin went on this afternoon to defeat fellow Gator teammate, Diego Hidalgo, in the singles championship, 6-3, 7-6 (7).
Vandy junior, Kris Yee, made it to the tournament singles consolation semifinals yesterday afternoon, not dropping a single set until semis. Yee was defeated by Florida’s Jordan Belga in a tiebreak, 5-7, 6-3 (7). Belga later won the singles consolation round by default. Host school, University of Florida swept the competition winning the singles division, singles consolation, and doubles division championships.
The Commodores are back in action this weekend as they travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the ITA All-American Championships.
