KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Playing its first SEC road match of the season, Vanderbilt’s 27th-ranked men’s tennis team was defeated 6-1 by No. 2 Tennessee Friday inside the Goodfriend Tennis Center.
With the loss, Vanderbilt fell to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in the SEC, while Tennessee improved to 14-1 overall and 3-0 in the league.
Vanderbilt fell behind early in the match when the Commodores lost the doubles point for only the fifth time this season as the Volunteers took a 1-0 lead.
“They gave us a pretty good thumping in doubles,” Head Coach Ian Duvenhage said. “We had a good start in singles, but we weren’t able to hold on and won just one first set. It’s a momentum game and they were able to carry that momentum into the second set.”
Tennessee would go on to win the first two completed singles matches at Nos. 2 and 4 before Vanderbilt senior Vijay Paul got Vanderbilt on the board in the No. 3 position to cut Tennessee’s lead to three, 4-1.
Riding a four-match win streak, Paul extended his streak to five when he defeated No. 51 Rhyne Williams, 6-4, 6-4, for his second straight victory over a ranked opponent. Paul is now 9-5 in dual play and 3-0 in the SEC with all five losses coming in the No. 2 position.
Shortly after Paul got Vanderbilt on the scoreboard, Tennessee was able to clinch the match when No. 4 John-Patrick Smith was able to hold off No. 48 Ryan Lipman, 7-6, 6-4, in a back-and-forth match in the No. 1 position.
“Ryan played a good match against a very good veteran player,” Duvenhage said. “It is the kind of match he needs to win at some point and we hope he learns from it.”
Because the match was played inside the Goodfriend Tennis Center where only four courts are available, the Nos. 5 and 6 singles matches could not be played until courts became available.
The Commodores will be back in action at noon on Sunday when they play at No. 9 Georgia.
