NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Playing its second of three consecutive top-five opponents, Vanderbilt’s 52nd-ranked men’s tennis team took a 1-0 lead against No. 5 Georgia before the Bulldogs rallied for a 4-3 win over the Commodores on Friday at the Currey Tennis Center.
The Commodores (5-14, 1-8 SEC) were able to win the doubles point for the second time in three matches to build a 1-0 lead. It was also just the fifth time this season a team has won the doubles point over Georgia. However, the lead would be short-lived as Georgia (19-2, 8-1) won the first four completed singles matches to clinch the overall match, 4-1.
Despite the score, clinching the match did not come easily for the Bulldogs, who have won the last two national championships. With Georgia one point away from clinching the match, Vanderbilt’s Vijay Paul refused to go down easy against No. 10 Nate Schnugg in the No. 1 position. The two battled back-and-forth through two sets with Schnugg winning each set in a tiebreak to eventually clinch the match.
Trailing 4-1, the Commodores earned points in the last two completed matches. Alex DiValerio dropped the first set to Georgia’s Christian Vitulli, 6-3, in the No. 6 position before Vitulli had to retire due to injury, giving DiValerio the win and Vanderbilt its second point.
Vanderbilt’s third point came from Nick Cromydas, who defeated No. 66 Javier Garrapiz, 7-5, 6-4, in the No. 3 position. The win was his first SEC win of the season and halted an eight-match losing streak.
In doubles play, Georgia took the first completed doubles match, but Vanderbilt fought back to claim the final two matches to win the doubles point. The doubles point was the second in three matches for the Commodores, but was also just the second in SEC play.
The Commodores evened the doubles match at one when Nick Cromydas and Vijay Paul combined to defeat Georgia’s Drake Bernstein and Javier Garrapiz, 8-6. The win pushed the duo’s record to 3-0 with all three wins coming in Vanderbilt’s last three matches. Cromydas and Paul trailed 6-4 in the match before winning the final four games to win the match.
Clinching the doubles point for the Commodores may have been one of the team’s most unlikely duos. Shortly before the match, Head Coach Ian Duvenhage had to remove Charlie Jones in the doubles and singles lineup due to injury and insert Alex DiValerio in his place. DiValerio teamed with Bryant Salcedo for the first time in their careers and defeated Georgia’s team of Borja Malo and Christian Vitulli, 9-8 (7-3). The duo trailed 7-4 in the match before winning four of the next five games to force a tiebreaker.
Due to severe storms throughout the metropolitan Nashville area, Friday’s match was forced indoors. It was Vanderbilt’s first home indoor match since March 13 against LSU.
Vanderbilt will continue its homestand Sunday when No. 4 Tennessee visits the Currey Tennis Center.
