ATHENS, Ga. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team will advance to the final day of the Southern Collegiate Championships from the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia riding the play of Ryan Lipman and Gonzales Austin. The duo passed through the quarterfinals on Sunday and will play in the semi’s at 9 a.m., Monday morning.
Lipman and Austin advanced to the semifinals easily Sunday, with an 8-2 win over Nick Wood and Austin Smith from Georgia. They will play Diego Nunez and Rogerio Ribeiro of ETSU at 9 a.m., in the semifinals with a possible matchup against either another Georgia or ETSU team.
“AJ and Ryan played outstanding in doubles today,” said assistant coach Jamie Hunt. “We talked prior to the match about winning all three aspects of doubles play: serving, returning and first volleys. Those guys went out there and executed in all phases and really imposed their will on a tough Georgia team.”
Austin, the fourth-seed in the DI singles bracket, was eliminated by eighth-seeded Smith of Georgia, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Suresh Eswaran won his quarterfinal match against Casey Kay of Georgia Tech, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6. He then fell to Andrew Goodwin (Bama) in the Division II singles semifinals in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3.
“Suresh did a great job to win his quarterfinal match,” Hunt said. “He won a lot of close matches this weekend and it will surely build confidence for him moving forward.”
Sunday Results
Division I Singles – Quarterfinals
Austin Smith (UGA) def. Gonzales Austin: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Division II Singles – Quarterfinals
Suresh Eswaran def. Casey Kay (GA Tech): 5-7, 6-3, 7-6
Division II Singles – Semifinals
Andrew Goodwin (Alabama) def. Suresh Eswaran: 6-0, 6-3
Division I Doubles – Quarterfinals
Austin/Lipman def. Wood/Smith (UGA): 8-2
Monday Schedule
Division I Doubles – Semifinals
Austin/Lipman vs. Nunez/Ribeiro (ETSU): 9 a.m.
