April 25, 2018
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
NASHVILLE – Cameron Klinger couldn’t have asked for a better start to his Vanderbilt tennis career.
During his freshman season with the Commodores in 2015-16, Klinger teamed with Rhys Johnson to form one of the SEC’s best doubles squads, ranking as high as No. 7 in the country. The San Jose, Calif. native capped the year as a Freshman All-SEC honoree and an ITA All-American in doubles, becoming Vanderbilt’s youngest All-American in program history.
But that surge of momentum came to a halt in an instant for Klinger: Midway through his sophomore season, Klinger tore his ACL during a pickup basketball game. Suddenly, Klinger began to worry about his future on the tennis court.
“Sure, those thoughts creep in,” Klinger said. “You’re having a good season, and then you tear your ACL. You can’t help but have those thoughts.”
Klinger, who was 10-2 in singles play at the time of his injury, was sidelined for the remainder of the 2016-17 season. But just more than a year later, the Commodore junior has tossed any remaining fears to the wayside. The former top-10 recruit in the country is now the 25th-ranked singles player for No. 19 Vanderbilt, which kicks off the 2018 SEC Tournament this weekend in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Commodores open their stint at the SEC Tournament on Thursday as the No. 6 seed, facing No. 11 LSU at Alabama Tennis Stadium at 12 p.m. CT.
For Klinger, every step on the court is a special one.
“The biggest thing is, you appreciate it a lot more,” Klinger said. “You realize how big a part of your life it is. All my best friends are because of tennis. You take it for granted.”
The Commodores head into the tournament fresh off a 4-3 win over No. 21 Tennessee on April 15. In that match, Klinger and Billy Rowe – the nation’s No. 21 doubles duo — earned a top-25 victory over UT’s No. 24 pairing of Preston Touliatos and Luis Valero. Klinger also toppled Tennessee’s Luis Valero, 7-5, 6-4, to give the Dores a 3-2 lead in the match.
PODCAST: Vanderbilt assistant tennis coach Ryan Lipman
Klinger, in his words, “gained a lot of maturity” during his time away from the court. Now he is 13-7 in singles this season, including 9-1 at the No. 2 spot in Vanderbilt’s lineup. Klinger has also helped the Commodores bounce back from a disappointing campaign a year ago; they had missed the NCAA tournament in 2016-17 after a 2-10 finish in SEC play.
A healthy Klinger in tow, Vanderbilt has authored a different storyline this season. The Dores are 17-7 overall and 7-5 in the SEC entering the conference tournament. They have been ranked in the top 25 for a month straight and even capped a 10-match win streak midway through the season. Vanderbilt’s 10 straight victories were its most in a single stretch since the 2002-03 season.
“We said from the start this was going to be a revenge year,” Klinger said. “It’s really fun to be part of something special here. We haven’t touched the surface of what we can be, but at the same time, we’ve had a good year.”
Klinger said Vanderbilt’s trip to the postseason couldn’t have come at a better time; prior to its win over UT, head coach Ian Duvenhage corralled his players for a team meeting. Vandy had dropped three of its last four matches and couldn’t afford to close the regular season on a sour note. Klinger said that meeting lit a fire under the Commodores – a fire that could lead to more success in the postseason.
“We came out the next day and played one of our best matches of the year,” Klinger said. “It woke everyone up and gave us some confidence. Now, we know we can do some damage.”
Zac Ellis is the Writer and Digital Media Editor for Vanderbilt Athletics.
