LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team continued play at the ITA Southeast Regional on Friday by earning five victories in singles play and four wins doubles competition.
“Overall, I thought we had a pretty successful day,” head coach Ian Duvenhage said.
Heading into competition on Saturday, both Ryan Preston and Vijay Paul remain in the main draw, while Adam Baker, Alex Zotov and Bryant Salcedo remain alive in the consolation bracket. Also, all four of Vanderbilt’s doubles teams advanced to the round of 32.
After automatically qualifying for the main draw due to seeding, Preston earned a 6-4, 6-3 win over Alabama’s Andrew Felsenthal in the round of 64. He will face Ole Miss’ Matthias Wellermann in the round of 32 at 12:30 on Saturday.
Joining Preston in the round of 32 will be Paul, who earned a pair of victories on Friday. Paul advanced to the main draw with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Auburn’s Terrance Nugent in the second round. In the round of 64, Paul downed LSU’s Kevin Dessauer , 6-4, 6-4. Paul will play Memphis’ Amrit Narasimhan in the round of 32 at 12:30 Saturday.
“Vijay (Paul) played a really good match and so did Ryan (Preston), so we were happy with the play of those guys,” Duvenhage said.
After earning first round victories on Thursday, both Evan Dufaux and Scott Lieberman were unable to advance to the main draw on Friday after losing in the second round.
Dufaux had a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Georgia State’s Nejc Podkrajsek, while Lieberman fell 6-4, 6-3 to Florida A&M’s Artiom Podgainii.
Competing in the first round of consolation play, Adam Baker played an exhausting match with Mississippi State’s Pjotrs Necajevs before earning a 6-7(3), 6-3(21-19) victory.
“Adam (Baker) played a terrific match and came back from six match points to win the tiebreaker 21-19,” Duvenhage said.
Also earning a victory in the first round of consolation play was Bryant Salcedo, who earned a 6-4, 6-4 win over Dusan Milovanovic of Morehead State.
“(Bryant) Salcedo did a good job because he is just getting used to getting back on the court following his injury,” Duvenhage said.
In doubles play the Commodores came out on fire by winning all four of their matches in the round of 62.
Cromydas and Dufaux earned an 8-4 win over Florida’s team of Mulligan and Cash. Baker and Paul defeated Memphis’ team of Narasimhan and Ramsay, 9-8(5).
VU’s duo of Lieberman and Alex Zotov defeated South Alabama’s duo of Nagel and Krisan, 8-6. Lastly, Preston and Salcedo picked up a first round win over South Florida’s tandem of Adderly and Sousa, 8-4.
The Commodores will return to the court for the third day of competition on Saturday.
Friday’s Results:
Round 2:
Vijay Paul (Vanderbilt) def. Terrance Nugent (Auburn), 6-4, 6-2
Artiom Podgainii (Florida A&M) def. Scott Lieberman (Vanderbilt), 6-4, 6-3
Nejc Podkrajsek (Georgia State) def. Evan Dufaux (Vanderbilt), 6-1, 6-3
Round of 64:
Ryan Preston (Vanderbilt) def. Andrew Felsenthal (Alabama), 6-4, 6-3
Vijay Paul (Vanderilt) def. Kevin Dessauer (LSU), 6-4, 6-4
Borja Zarco (Tennessee Tech) def. Nick Cromydas (Vanderbilt), 6-3, 6-1
Consolation First Round:
Adam Baker (Vanderbilt) def. Pjotrs Necajevs (Mississippi State), 6-7(3), 6-3(21-19)
Bryant Salcedo (Vanderbilt) def. Dusan Milovanovic (Morehead State), 6-4, 6-4
Doubles Round of 64:
Cromydas/Dufaux (Vanderbilt) def. Mulligan/Cash (Florida), 8-4
Baker/Paul (Vanderbilt) def. Narasimhan/Ramsay (Memphis), 9-8(5)
Lieberman/Zotov (Vanderbilt) def. Nagel/Kristan (South Alabama), 8-6
Preston/Salcedo (Vanderbilt) def. Adderly/Sousa, 8-4
