STARKVILLE, Miss. – After claiming the doubles point for the ninth time this season, the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team was unable to hold on to the lead during singles play and fell to Mississippi State, 4-1, Friday afternoon in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Vanderbilt and Mississippi State split the Nos. 1 and 2 doubles matches, with Charlie Jones and Alex Zotov picking up an 8-6 win on court two. The duo of Blake Bazarnik and Bryant Salcedo clinched the doubles point for the Commodores with a 9-8(4) win on court three. The pair is now 3-0 in No. 3 doubles matches, and have clinched the doubles point in each of the last two matches.
The Commodores were unable to carry momentum over to singles play, as the Bulldogs quickly evened the score with a 6-2, 6-2 win the No. 2 match. MSU took the lead when Louis Cant, ranked 73rd in the nation, defeated Bryant Salcedo, 6-1, 6-2, in the No. 5 match. Alex Zotov dropped a 7-6(5), 6-4 decision to Zach White on court six, before rain in the area caused a delay in play.
The severe weather forced the remaining three matches to be played indoors, with only two able to play at a time. After tying up the match 6-4, 6-7(2-7), Ryan Lipman fell, 6-1, in the third set, as Mississippi State clinched the victory. With the match decided, the final two matches went unfinished.
The Commodores wrap up the weekend at Ole Miss on Sunday. Doubles play will begin at 1 p.m. and live stats can be found here.
