BATON ROUGE, La. — The 45th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team advanced to the second round of the 2007 NCAA Men’s Championships with a 4-2 victory over No. 18 Tulsa Friday at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
The Commodores used a tiebreak win in doubles and a trio of three-set singles’ victories to secure the necessary four points for advancement. Vanderbilt will take on host LSU in the second round of the tournament at 12 Noon CT on Saturday, May 12.
The entire contest was hotly contested. The teams split matches at second and third doubles before center court went to a pro-set tiebreaker. Junior Ryan Preston and freshman Vijay Paul won the point for the Commodores at No. 1 doubles, 9-8, over the 41st-ranked tandem of Tulsa’s Diego Camacho and Ross Cunningham.
The singles’ competition was much of the same. Tulsa took four-of-six first sets, including a pair of 7-5 decisions on courts four and five. Only one match was decided in straight sets, as Camacho defeated VU’s Jordan Magarik — who had teamed with Andy Mack for a win at third doubles — by a 6-1, 7-6 tally to even the match at 1-1.
At No. 5 singles, Mack dropped his first set before rebounding to give the Commodores their second point, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. Tulsa again tied the contest minutes later when Fredrico Soriano rebounded from a first-set loss of his own to take No. 4 singles over Paul, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
Sophomore Nik Cromydas kept the trend going when he won the second and third sets for yet another come-from-behind singles win. He defeated Ricardo Soriano, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, to give the Commodores a 3-2 edge with only two matches left to be decided.
Courts one and three both headed to three sets. At one, Preston lost a first-set tiebreaker before rebounding for a 6-3 second-set win. His match would be suspended at 5-5 in the third set when the overall outcome was decided two courts away.
After winning the first set, VU junior Evan Dufaux dropped the second and was taken to a tiebreaker in the third before earning the clinching point to secure the upset for the Commodores.
Second-year Head Coach Ian Duvenhage is making his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament with the Commodores. A win Saturday over LSU would earn Duvenhage’s Dores a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16, which begins Thursday in Athens, Ga.
AGATE
Vanderbilt 4, Tulsa 2
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium
Baton Rouge, La.
DOUBLES
*No. 1: Vijay Paul/Ryan Preston (VU) def. Diego Camacho/Ross Cunningham (TU), 9-8
No. 2: Andy Connelly/Lucques Maasdorp (TU) def. Nik Cromydas/Evan Dufaux (VU), 8-5
No. 3: Andy Mack/Jordan Magarik (VU) def. Arnau Brugues/Fredrico Soriano (TU), 8-6
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1*
SINGLES
No. 1: Ryan Preston (VU) vs. Arnau Brugues (TU), 6-7, 6-3, 5-5 DNF
No. 2: Nik Cromydas (VU) def. Ricardo Soriano (TU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
*No. 3: Evan Dufaux (VU) def. Will Gray (TU), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6
No. 4: Fredrico Soriano (TU) def. Vijay Paul (VU), 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
No. 5: Andy Mack (VU) def. Ross Cunningham (TU), 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
No. 6: Diego Camacho (TU) def. Jordan Magarik (VU), 6-1, 7-6
Order of finish: 6, 5, 4, 2, 3*
MATCH NOTES
Vanderbilt advances to the second round of the 2007 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship. The Commodores will face host LSU on Saturday, May 12, at 12 Noon CT, at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
