MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Redshirt junior Ryan Lipman won the singles championship at the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Tuesday morning at the Racquet Club of Memphis.
Lipman, the No. 12 seed, defeated the No. 2 seed Mikelis Libietis of Tennessee in two sets, 6-3, 6-4. The Nashville, Tenn., native fired on all cylinders this weekend to take the singles title.
His path to the title was anything but easy, as he defeated the No. 1 (Anthony Rossi of Kentucky), No. 2 (Libietis) and No. 3 seeds (Gonzales Austin). In the semifinals, Lipman was dealt with playing his own teammate, Austin, which he defeated by default after the fellow Commodore went down with an injury in the second set.
It has been a long road back for Lipman after missing all of his junior year with an injury, but after the way he played this weekend, it seems clear that he is back at 100 percent.
“He’s back, Ryan Lipman is back,” said an extremely pleased Vanderbilt head coach Ian Duvenhage. “He played a superb match against a good player. It was one of the most disciplined matches I’ve ever seen him play, so I am really proud of him.”
For the tournament, Lipman went 6-0 in singles play and is now 8-2 through three fall tournaments. In his six matches over the weekend, he needed three sets only once to win a match. That match was in the round of 16 versus the No. 1 seed Rossi of Kentucky (6-3, 6-7, 6-4).
This marks the second time that Lipman has played in the finals at the ITA Regionals. During his freshman campaign, Lipman fell to Kentucky’s Eric Quigley 6-3, 6-2.
Lipman will now head to the ITA National Indoor tournament in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., Nov. 8-11.
“I couldn’t be happier for him because maybe a week ago he had some doubts, but I think he dispelled any and all doubts,” Duvenhage said.
Vanderbilt, as a team, will begin dual competition on Jan. 18, when the Commodores host Butler at 4 p.m. at the Currey Tennis Center.
Singles Championship
(12) Ryan Lipman (Vanderbilt) def. (2) Mikelis Libietis (Tennessee) 6-3, 6-4
