COLUMBIA, S.C. – Vanderbilt men’s tennis took on No. 32 South Carolina Saturday at the Carolina Tennis Complex, falling short to the Gamecocks, 6-1.
The Commodores got off to a slow start while opening the doubles portion of the match.
South Carolina pair, Beau Pelletier and Daniel Rodriguee took down the Commodores’ George Harwell and ChristiaanWorst, 6-3, to take the first doubles victory over the Dores.
With the doubles point coming down to the final two courts, 80th-rankedduo Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe stepped up for the Dores, collecting the first win by upsetting 63rd-ranked Gamecock pair, Paul Jubb and Raphael Lambling, 7-5.
With a close 7-5 defeat over Max Freeman and Macsen Sisam, the Gamecocks collected another doubles point to earn a 1-0 lead heading into singles.
South Carolina wasted no time advancing its lead in singles with Lambling taking down Sisam in a straight-set win, 6-1, 6-1 to extend the Gamecocks’ lead to 2-0.
After the completion of the first set across all six courts, the Dores led on one sole court with junior Rowe taking down South Carolina’s Jospeph Brailovsky, 6-3.
Eager to bounce back in second set competition, the Commodores split sets on two courts to earn the Dores a chance at a comeback.
South Carolina remained strong on Courts 2 and 5 with No. 93 Rodriguee clinching the match for the Gamecocks, 4-0, by defeating Harwell, 6-3, 7-5.
Remaining courts played out where Rowe earned the Dores sole point earning a 6-3 win in the first set followed by a resilient fight in the second set to win in the tiebreaker, 7-6 (4).
Klinger and freshman Marcus Ferreira fell short on their respective courts advancing the Gamecocks victory to 6-1.
The Commodores are back in action March 29th at the Vanderbilt Currey Tennis Center to face Kentucky.
Stay updated with the Dores as they prepare for the Wildcats by following @VandyMTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
