NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Gonzales Austin clinched the win over the Blue Raiders on Wednesday night as the No. 37 Commodores opened their dual season with a 6-1win over Middle Tennessee State.
“I thought that was a good start, I liked our energy and enthusiasm,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “We struggled to sustain it in a few places, but I thought we did a good job overall.”
Charlie Jones led the Dores with a 6-1, 6-0 singles win over MTSU’s Ben Davis in the No. 1 position, with sophomore Blake Bazarnik beating Matt Langley in the No. 3 position for a 6-4, 6-2 win.
“In particular I think Alex DiValerio and Joe Dorn did a great job at setting the tone in doubles and I thought Charlie Jones did just a superb job of beating a good player badly,” said Duvenhage.
Anton Kovrigin got his first collegiate win after sitting the fall tournament season, as he came back from an 0-3 deficit in the first set to win 7-6, 6-7 (11-9) in a back-and-forth tiebreaker.
“I’m excited,” said senior Jones. “Everybody looked sharp. The freshmen don’t look like freshmen or play like it. MTSU always comes after us, they’re a fiery bunch of guys. They brought it today, and we were better.”
The Commodores head to the ITA Kick-Off weekend in Malibu, California this weekend, where they’ll face the BYU Broncos in the first round.
Results:
Doubles:
Gonzales Austin/Blake Bazarnik (VU) def. Chris Lang/Ben Davis (MT) 8-7 (7-2)
Charlie Jones/Jeff Offerdahl (VU) def. Camerson Dickerson/Marlon Brand 8-4
Joe Dorn/Alex DiValerio (VU) def. Matt Langley/Ettore Zito (MT) 8-2
Singles:
Charlie Jones (VU) def. Ben Davis (MT) 6-1, 6-0
Gonzales Austin (VU) def. Ettore Zito (MT) 7-5, 6-2
Blake Bazarnik (VU) def. Matt Langley (MT) 6-4, 6-2
Chris Lang (MT) def. Joe Dorn (VU) 6-7, 7-6, 6-2
Anton Kovrigin (VU) def. Dimitri Pippos (MT) 7-6, 6-7 (11-9)
Jeff Offerdahl (VU) def. Cameron Dickerson (MT) 6-1, 6-2
