NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In desperate need of ending a two-match losing skid, Vanderbilt’s 35th-ranked men’s tennis team put together one of its strongest performances of the season as the Commodores knocked off No. 38 South Carolina, 6-1, on Senior Day Sunday at the Currey Tennis Center.
With the win, Vanderbilt improved to 11-8 overall and 3-5 in the SEC. The win was also the 400th of Head Coach Ian Duvenhage’s career as the Commodores concluded their 2010 home schedule with a 9-2 record. South Carolina fell to 9-9 overall and 1-7 in the SEC.
Vanderbilt entered the match reeling after losing at Auburn and then to Florida at home on Friday, but the Commodores showed no signs of mental fatigue on Sunday en route to sweeping all three doubles matches and winning the first three completed singles matches against the Gamecocks.
“We had gotten thumped two consecutive times and we really needed this,” Duvenhage said. “I came out this morning and had all kinds of speeches in mind, and suddenly it hit me that we just need to relax and we need to stop pressing.
“I really could tell from the minute we got started in doubles that we were in a better place. We were more relaxed. When we are relaxed, we start quick. When we are uptight and pressing, we don’t start well. This win will help us a lot.”
Vanderbilt swept all three doubles matches to build a 1-0 lead in the match. It was the 12th time this season Vanderbilt has won the doubles point and the 10th time it has swept all three matches. The Commodores are 11-1 when it wins the doubles point this season.
In singles play, Alex Zotov extended VU’s lead to two, 2-0, when he topped South Carolina’s Ivan Cressoni, 6-0, 6-4, in the No. 3 position. It marked the first win of Zotov’s career in the No. 3 position. Before playing in the No. 3 position against Florida on Friday, Zotov had primarily played the Nos. 4 and 5 positions this season.
Charlie Jones gave VU a 3-0 lead when he defeated Ivan Machado, 6-1, 6-2, in the No. 6 position. It was the second win in SEC play for Jones, who has missed time this year due to a knee injury.
Clinching the match for the Commodores was Bryant Salcedo, who snapped a six-match losing streak and picked up his first SEC win of the season. Salcedo topped Alexander Kostanov, 6-2, 6-2, in the No. 4 singles position. It was also the second match this season Salcedo has clinched.
Also earning points for Vanderbilt were Adam Baker and Ryan Lipman. Baker picked up his victory in the No. 5 position as he defeated Johannes Pulsfort, 6-4, 6-3, to snap a two-match losing streak.
Ranked No. 37, Lipman topped No. 59 Diego Cubas, 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6), in the No. 1 singles position. Lipman trailed 6-2 in the tiebreaker before winning the final eight points. Lipman is now 4-4 in the SEC at No. 1.
Before Sunday’s match, Vanderbilt honored seniors Scott Lieberman, James Moye and Vijay Paul, who were taking part in the final home match of their careers.
While Duvenhage was happy about his 400th victory, he was more excited about the result of the match and for the relationships he has built in the sport over the years.
“I’m thrilled that we won today and I’m happy for the kids,” Duvenhage said. “I’ve learned through the years that what ends up mattering are the relationships and the memories. The accomplishments do matter, but I’ve never been that into the numbers. I’ll give all of my wins away for an SEC or NCAA title.”
In doubles play, Vanderbilt’s 53rd-ranked duo of Ryan Lipman and Bryant Salcedo got the Commodores off to a good start when they dispatched USC’s duo of Ivan Machado and Ivan Cressoni, 8-5, in the No. 2 position.
Clinching the doubles point was Vanderbilt’s No. 1 duo of Alex Zotov and Adam Baker, who knocked off South Carolina’s 66th-ranked tandem of Diego Cubas and Pedro Campos, 8-6.
Earning the sweep for the Commodores was their No. 3 duo of Vijay Paul and Alex DiValerio who rebounded from their first loss of the season on Friday by defeating Johannes Pulsfort and Alexander Kostanov, 8-6.
Vanderbilt will return to the courts next week when the Commodores travel to Arkansas and LSU next weekend. Vanderbilt will play at Arkansas at 1:30 Friday.
