Oct. 20, 2011
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –
Five members of the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team will move on in the main draw after the first day of play at the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships.
Charlie Jones, who has shown himself to be a strong competitor this fall after his performance at the All-Americans and is the No. 6 seeded player headed into the tournament, won his first singles round with a decisive 6-1, 6-2 result.
Gonzales Austin, also a top-seeded player in the tournament, also won his singles match, outplaying his opponent to a 6-1, 6-0 final. Jeff Offerdahl, another seeded freshman, showed similar skills on the court, winning 6-0, 6-1.
Joe Dorn and Blake Bazarnik also won their singles matches to move on to the round of 64 on Friday. Dorn battled back after dropping his first set 4-6 to win the next two 6-2, 6-4. Bazarnik split sets, winning in the third.
In doubles, the pairs of Austin and Bazarnik, Alex DiValerio and Offerdahl, and Dorn and Jones won their first round of matches, while Suresh Eswaran and Michael Retta dropped into the compensation round after losing their first match. The three remaining pairs lost to the No. 6, No. 2 and No. 5 seeded doubles partners in the Round of 32.
The tournament continues Friday morning, with the Round of 64 singles matches getting underway at 8:30 a.m. and the Round of 32 playing at 2:00 p.m. Bazarnik faces Memphis’s Leon Nasemann, Jones will take on Xavier’s Patrick Bandy, Austin faces Tennessee’s Taylor Patrick, Offerdahl faces MTSU’s Forrest Edwards, and Dorn takes on Memphis’s Johnny Grimal.
Singles compensation rounds begins at 11:00 a.m.
Thursday’s Results:
Singles:
Round of 128:
#6 JONES (VU) def. ALBERTIN (BSU) 6-1, 6-2
#18 BAZARNIK (VU) def. WOLDMOE (BU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
#9 AUSTIN (VU) def. MITRIC (MSU) 6-1, 6-0
HENRY (MEM0 def. ESWARAN (VU) 6-1, 6-2
O’HARE (MEM) def. DIVALERIO (VU) 6-3, 6-2
#26 OFFERDAHL (VU) def. LOURENCO (UTC) 6-0, 6-1
DORN (VU) def. ANTUN (BEL) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
Doubles:
Round of 64:
AUSTIN/BAZARNIK (VU) def. ACOSTA/KOVACS (PU) 8-4
DIVALERIO/OFFERDAHL (VU) def. CORTEZ/SALAZAR (LB) 8-6
DORN/JONES (VU) def. BERNIER/KOROSS (DAY) 8-2
ERVIN/O’NEILL (BU) def. ESWARAN/RETTA (VU) 8-2
Round of 32:
#6 LIBIETIS/REESE (UT) def. AUSTIN/BAZARNIK (VU) 8-6
#2 MACTAGGART/VOGL (IU) def. DIVALERIO/OFFERDAHL (VU) 8-1
#5 CARTER/STIEFELMEYER (UL) def. DORN/JONES (VU) 8-5
