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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Despite falling behind in four singles matches, the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team fought back to earn their second win of the season Sunday afternoon when they defeated Memphis 6-1 in Nashville.
“This was really one of the best matches we’ve played since I’ve been here,” Vanderbilt’s second year Head Coach Ian Duvenhage said.
The Commodores (2-1) recovered from their doubles loss Saturday against Western Michigan by taking all three pro sets to pull ahead 1-0 going into the singles round.
The Tigers (0-2) followed with strong counter-attacks across the roster. After taking the first set 6-4, Commodore senior Andy Mack battled his way back from a 5-2 deficit to defeat Cody Loup 7-5 in the second set to seal the first Commodore singles victory.
Senior Nathan Sachs was the second Commodore to notch a singles win, defeating Chattanooga native Charlie Ramsay 6-4, 6-2. Tiger Amrit Narasimhan shot back with a victory over Vanderbilt sophomore Nik Cromydas (7-5, 6-4), brining the score to 3-1.
Memphis junior Jimmy Khougassian was not about to let VU freshman Vijay Paul clinch the match with an easy win at No.3. Khougassian notched the first set 6-4, but Paul countered with a 6-4 win of his own to split sets. The competitors exchanged points in the third set, and with Paul sitting on a match point, a short shot by Khougassian finalized the Commodore victory (4-6, 6-4, 7-5).
But the intensity continued just one court over, where Vanderbilt’s Evan Dufaux and Memphis’ Benedickt Fischer where finishing their final set. The two were dead even throughout the contest; Fischer took the first set in a 7-5 tiebreaker, while Dufaux mirrored the win with a 7-5 breaker victory of his own in the second. Dufaux pulled out to an early lead and finished the match with a 6-3 win in the final set (6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-3).
Vanderbilt freshman Scott Lieberman, who took the court nearly two hours after the singles contest began, found that despite the decided Commodore victory, Spencer Heflin of Memphis was not taking the match lightly. Lieberman started with a quick 6-3 victory in the first set, but fell 6-4 in the second. During the super tiebreaker Heflin came within one point of Lieberman, but a narrowly missed long shot allowing Lieberman to finish the breaker with a 10-7 victory.
The Commodores will have the week to prepare for next weekend’s contests. The first on Friday against Florida Atlantic, followed by No. 52 Virginia Tech on Sunday.
RESULTS
Vanderbilt 6 Memphis 1
Doubles
1. Cromydas/Paul (VU) d. Narasimhan/Fischer 8-4
2. Mack/Sachs (VU) d. Khougassian/Ramsay 8-6
3. Dufaux/Lieberman (VU) d. Pilant/Hefflin 8-3
Singles
1. Evan Dufaux (VU) d. Benedickt Fischer 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-3
2. Amrit Narasimhan (UM) d. Nik Cromydas 7-5, 6-4
3. Vijay Paul (VU) d. Jimmy Khougassian (UM) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
4. Nathan Sachs (VU) d. Charlie Ramsay (UM) 6-4, 6-2
5. Andy Mack (VU) d. Cody Loup (UM) 6-4, 7-5
6. Scott Lieberman (VU) d. Spencer Heflin (UM) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (7)
