NASVHILLE, Tenn. – Looking to bounce back from last weekend’s SEC losses, Vanderbilt fell short in a close 4-3 match to No. 46 Kentucky on Friday at the Currey Tennis Center.
Opening up in doubles, veteran Commodore duo No. 80 Cam Klinger and Billy Rowe dominated the court over Wildcat pair Cesar Bourgois and Kento Yamada, 6-4.
Eager to secure the second doubles victory to take a 1-0 lead over Kentucky, the remaining two Commodore pairs fought hard on Courts 2 and 3 but ultimately fell short to the Wildcats, giving Kentucky a 1-0 advantage to enter singles play.
Junior Panu Virtanen wasted no time getting started on Court 6 against Kentucky’s Parth Aggarwal, demanding the first set, 6-3. Virtanen remained strong throughout the second set to earn the Dores’ first match point, taking down Aggarwal, 6-3, 6-2.
With the match tied, 1-1, Kentucky quickly took the lead with wins on Courts 1 and 5 to extend the Wildcats’ advantage to 3-1 over the Commodores.
Battling in a tight three-set match, freshman Macsen Sisam came back from a 4-6 defeat in the first set to win the match, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 over Wildcat junior Bourgois. That cut Kentucky’s lead to 3-2.
With Rowe leading on Court 3, the Dores saw light for a comeback. But No. 118 Enzo Wallart clinched the match for Kentucky with a win on Court 2 over sophomore George Harwell, 6-4, 6-4.
The final court played out with Rowe earning a 7-5, 7-6 (5) win over Yamada to solidify the final score, 4-3.
The Dores fell to 3-5 in conference matches and 13-7 overall.
The Commodores look to break their three-match losing streak on Thursday against LSU at the Currey Tennis Center.
Follow along with the Dores as they prepare to host the Tigers by following @VandyMTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
