NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It almost seemed like an April Fools jest: despite five tiebreakers and three three-set matches, the 38th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team still came up empty handed against top-ranked Georgia in Nashville Sunday.
But the match was no joke for the Commodores (8-9, 2-5), who came within just a few games of upsetting the undefeated Bulldogs, including the top ranked player in the country. The Commodore push was too little, too late, however, and Vandy still took an L score of 7-0.
After the Bulldogs swept the doubles round, the Commodores seemed shell-shocked going into singles. UGA took the first set win on five of six singles courts.
But just as if someone reminded the squad of their pre-match chant (“Fight ‘Dores!”), the Commodores swung into action, tying the Bulldogs on two courts and playing two tiebreakers on two more.
“When some of our guys started playing they just had it in their heads that this was Georgia, the No. 1 team in the country,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Ian Duvenhage. “But then they actually started to realize that these guys are beatable and really fought like they always do.”
After falling 6-1 to UGA’s Jamie Hunt in the first set, senior Nathan Sachs fired back with four game wins, but it wasn’t enough for the second set victory. VU’s Jordan Magarik followed with a heartbreaking second set tiebreaker loss in his first singles contest of 2007.
At this point in the contest, with UGA up 3-0, four Commodores had second set leads. The clincher fell at No. 3, where Vijay Paul fell to 31st-ranked Matic Omerzel 6-0, 4-6, 6-2. Paul may have been the Commodore to earn the clinching asterisk, but Nik Cromydas, Ryan Preston and Andy Mack also felt the sting of a lead surrendered.
Senior Andy Mack led UGA’s Nate Schnugg throughout the second set. Schnugg rallied at the end of the contest to tie Mack at 5-5 and push through to take the tiebreaker win.
Junior Nik Cromydas defeated ninth-ranked Luis Flores in the first set and jumped out to an early lead in the second. But Flores fought back to take a 7-5 win and the match win with a super tiebreaker.
“Nik’s a kid that played No. 6 for us last year as a freshman and had a relatively average season,” Duvenhage said. “Now look at him. He’s playing at No.2 against some of the best competition in the county and playing extremely well.”
Ryan Preston stepped up to the challenge of battling John Isner, the nation’s top-ranked men’s tennis player. In 31 wins and four losses since 2006 fall play, Isner has only battled and won in two matches that lasted into third sets. Preston’s match on April 1 became the third. After falling 6-3 in the first set, Preston fired back with a 7-6 tiebreaker win. Isner earned the match win in the third set.
“There’s always a process of evolution in a team’s lifespan,” Duvenhage said. “Initially you don’t play well enough to make it close. Then you start playing good teams in close matches. Then at some point you get over that hump and win tough matches. We need to get over that hump.”
The Commodores will continue SEC competition next Friday, taking on Florida, followed by South Carolina on Sunday in Gainesville and Columbia.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #1 John Isner (UGA) d. #63 Ryan Preston (VU) 6-3, 6-7, 6-2
2. #9 Louis Flores (UGA) d. #125 Nik Cromydas (VU) 6-7, 7-5, 1-0
3. #31 Matic Omerzel (UGA) d. Vijay Pual (VU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
4. Jamie Hunt (UGA) d. Nathan Sachs (VU) 6-1, 6-4
5. #79 Nate Schnugg (UGA) d. Andy Mack (VU) 6-3, 7-6
6. Christian Vitulli (UGA) d. Jordan Magarik (VU) 6-2, 7-6
Doubles
1. #1 Isner/Flores (UGA) d. Paul/Preston 8-2
2. #10 Helgeson/Omerzel (UGA) d. Cromydas/Dufaux (VU) 8-5
3. #59 Hunt/Schnugg (UGA) d. Mack/Magarik (VU) 8-2
