TULSA, Okla. — Another Hugo Coquelin and Henry Ruger doubles match, another extended tiebreak third set for the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team. The Dores saw two pairs battling in the opening round of doubles qualifying on Monday at the ITA All-American Championships hosted by Tulsa.
The tournament schedule was delayed multiple hours by the presence of rain in the area. Vanderbilt finally saw its first action with senior Nathan Cox and sophomore Danil Panarin paired together against South Carolina’s Lucas Andrade Da Silva and Jelani Sarr. The two struggled to gain any traction against the Gamecocks, falling 6-3, 6-4.
Coquelin and Ruger took the court soon after, matching up with Luca Staeheli and Martin Borisiouk of NC State. The Dores quickly jumped in front their Wolfpack opponents, taking the first set 6-2. Borisiouk and Staeheli returned the favor in the second, clawing back into the match with a 6-3 set win. For the second day in a row, Coquelin and Ruger went to a third set tiebreaker. The Vanderbilt duo used its serving to push ahead, eventually claiming the back-and-forth match with a 10-6 set three victory.
Coquelin and Ruger return to the court Tuesday for the fourth consecutive day together. The pair will face Duke’s Sam Landau and Andreja Petrovic in the second round of doubles qualifying tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. CT. The Blue Devils will bring a familiar face along: TJ Pura, who is now an assistant coach with Duke’s program, served as the Commodores’ assistant coach last season.
