Oct. 9, 2016
ATLANTA, Ga. – Competing in the Georgia Tech Invitational division three final, Tate Allwardt of the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team put up an extremely hard fight, but fell to Auburn’s Brandon Laubser 6-4, 7-6(4).
Sunday’s matchup was Allwardt’s first collegiate flight final, with the junior nearly forcing a third set against Laubser. However, the sophomore from Johannesburg, South Africa walked away with the win after paramount games fell his way.
Earlier in the day, Allwardt and doubles partner Panu Virtanen dropped a close 8-7(1) contest to Furman University’s Jake Munns/Adam Steryous. The Dores’ lone win on Sunday came in singles as 60th-ranked Cameron Klinger defeated an SEC opponent in Florida’s Johannes Ingildsen.
Entering the tournament as the highest seed, Klinger powered through his first set against the Gator, 6-1. While Ingildsen attempted to force a comeback, the Vanderbilt All-American pulled out the win in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5.
The Commodores now take a break from tournament competition next weekend, as the squad prepares for the riggers of ITA Regionals. This year’s Regional begins Oct. 20th and will be hosted by the University of Tennessee.
