NORMAN, Okla. – Competing in the first day of the ITA Kick-Off, Vanderbilt men’s tennis came up short against No. 17-ranked Notre Dame, 4-0.
Starting off the match in doubles play, Commodore duo Billy Rowe and George Harwell took the court against No. 49-ranked Notre Dame pair Matt Gamble and Grayson Broadous. The Dores held the Irish duo to only two games, defeating the pair 6-2.
But Notre Dame came back strong to earn the doubles point over the Commodores with victories on courts 1 and 2. The Irish took down Dore duos Max Freeman and Cameron Klinger and Christiaan Worst and Panu Virtanen, 6-3, 6-1 respectively.
Heading into singles play, the Dores looked to make a comeback against the Irish as No. 62-ranked Rowe took the court against Notre Dame’s Tristan McCormick. Rowe started strong for the Dores, clinching the first set in a tiebreaker victory, 7-6 (3).
Senior Cameron Klinger battled on court one against No. 16-ranked Alex Lebedev with Lebedev conquering the first set over Klinger, 6-3. In the second set, Klinger bounced back to defeat Lebedev, 6-3.
Both matches were cut short in the final set due to a match clinch by Notre Dame with the Irish earning victories over Freeman on court 2 (6-4, 6-4), Marcus Ferreira on court 6 (6-4, 6-3) and Virtanen on court 5 (6-4, 7-6 (5)).
The Commodores look to bounce back Sunday as they compete in the consolation match against Drake at 10 a.m. CT.
Keep up with the Dores by following @VandyMTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
Tennis Match Results
Notre Dame vs Vanderbilt
Jan 26, 2019 at Norman, Okla. (Headington Family Tennis Center)
#17 Notre Dame 4, Vanderbilt 0
1. Cameron Klinger (VANDY) vs. #16 Alex Lebedev (ND) 3-6, 6-3, 2-1, unfinished 2. #63 Richard Ciamarra (ND) def. Maxwell Freeman (VANDY) 6-4, 6-4
3. George Harwell (VANDY) vs. Axel Nefve (ND) 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 0-1, unfinished
4. #62 Billy Rowe (VANDY) vs. Tristan McCormick (ND) 6-7 (3-7), 4-5, unfinished
5. #49 William Howells (ND) def. Panu Virtanen (VANDY) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Guillermo Cabrera (ND) def. Marcus Ferreira (VANDY) 6-4, 6-3
1. Richard Ciamarra/Tristan McCormick (ND) def. #11 Maxwell Freeman/Cameron Klinger (VANDY) 6-3
2. Alex Lebedev/Axel Nefve (ND) def. Christiaan Worst/Panu Virtanen (VANDY) 6-1
3. Billy Rowe/George Harwell (VANDY) def. #49 Matt Gamble/Grayson Broadus (ND) 6-2
Match Notes:
Notre Dame 2-0; National ranking #17 Vanderbilt 2-1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,6,5)
