NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 49 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team knocked off its first top-10 opponent this season, with Cameron Klinger’s clinch over the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies Friday night.
“It was a pretty crazy third set,” said Klinger. “I think three or four of my service games went to deuce and I won all of them. I was listening to Jamie (Hunt) and he was just saying you know `just stick around, this is your time.’ The guys we’re super loud and they game me a ton of support. I’m just so glad I could come through for them.”
The Commodores have been playing resilient tennis the past two weekends, as Friday night’s win was the third straight 4-3 victory in SEC play, having knocked off No. 17 Kentucky and Tennessee by the same score last weekend. Three different student-athletes have clinched the victories for Vanderbilt in SEC showdowns, displaying stability through the lineup in times of intense pressure.
“It was such a great win for us,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “You know we’re getting better, and there are still lots of areas where we can improve. I think what we’re seeing is that we’ve told them when we’ve had those though 4-3 losses that we just need to hang in there… and if we keep knocking at the door it will open itself up at some point… It happened against Kentucky, it happened against Tennessee, and now it’s happened again. I think now they’ve become believers, if they compete and hang in there no matter how dire things look, until it’s over it’s not over. We’re finding ways to win, which is really encouraging.”
Klinger, ranked 92nd, clinched the Commodores first top-10 victory since 2013 against No. 8 UK in three hard-fought sets. The San Jose, Calif. native was up 5-2 in the first set, but allowed his opponent to claw back in and take the set tiebreaker. Against No. 90 in the nation, the freshman rallied, taking the second set 6-4, and powering through the paramount tiebreaker, 7-6(3).
Friday’s competition began with incredibly close doubles play, but the Dores came out on top to claim what proved to be a crucial point. No. 33 Rhys Johnson and Klinger kicked the match off with a win on court one. The tandem eared its third ranked win of the season and 13th overall, breezing by No. 18 Withrow/Rinderknech; 6-2.
Vandy clinched the doubles point on court two as Baker Newman and Tate Allwardt were sent to a tiebreaker. With points going back and forth in the breaker, the duo began inching away at 4-all to take their 8th win this season, 7-6(5).
In singles play, the Aggies leveled the score and also earned a one-point advantage with back-to-back wins as Commodores fell on the courts six and two. Johnson put up a fight at on court two, but No. 45 Shane Vansant came out on top 7-5, 6-3.
Down 4-1 in the first set on court four, Newman held serve to go on a five game win-streak to take the set 6-4. Using momentum from the comeback, the sophomore battled through the second set to take his 19th match of the year and level the score, 6-4, 6-3. The Aggies took the 3-2 advantage on court five, as Withrow defeated Kris Yee, 6-4, 6-3.
No. 67 Danny Valent saved the match for the Dores, taking court one in the third set over No. 18 Arthur Rinderknech. After taking the first set in commanding fashion, 6-2, the sophomore fell in his second set 6-3. While the third set was tight, Valent captured is 8th ranked win of the season, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
“I feel like when teams become great different players come through at different times. Rhys came through against Kentucky, Danny against Tennessee and today Cam clinches. It was a huge win for him (Klinger) especially given the fact that he was in control of the first set and got tentative. Danny beat a guy that’s been top-10 in the country, and that’s a huge win for him. I’m proud of them and we’ll come back to work tomorrow morning and get better”
The Commodores have one more SEC contest this weekend, hosting he No. 48 LSU Tigers Sunday at noon.
