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4/1/2006 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The ‘Dores (7-8, 2-5) notched their second consecutive SEC upset when they downed No. 42 Tennessee (8-7, 2-5) in Knoxville Friday 4-3. The ‘Dores had to overcome a 1-0 deficit entering the match, following Nik Cromydas’ forfeit of the No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles contests. The Commodores not only earned their first road win fighting the deficit, but also left UT with their first home loss of the season. “This was one of the most special matches I’ve been a part of in 20-something years of coaching,” VU Head Coach Ian Duvenhage said. “I’m happy for the guys and the way they handled themselves.” The Commodores earned two doubles wins, including an 8-3 victory by Ryan Preston and Jordan Magarik to tie the match 1-1 going into singles. The singles portion of the match took over three hours to complete, due to a leak in the roof, which forced the matches to stay confined to three courts. Ryan Preston tied the match at 2-2, following a loss by Nathan Sachs at No. 4. Preston split sets with UT’s Bobby Cameron, then sealed a 6-4 win on a service break to take the singles point for the ‘Dores. “He played really well and he’d be on the verge of winning. But then he’d start getting result oriented and start thinking about winning and his performance drops. The same thing happened with Andy Mack. It’s something Andy Mack fought through a three game deficit to defeat Vol David Baxendine in the first set 7-5. Mack was unable to keep up the momentum in the second set and fell 4-6, but struck back with a shutout in the third (6-0) to take Magarik played the clinching match, which began at 8:50 p.m., nearly four hours after the start of the doubles competition. Magarik held the lead through all of the first set, though Ben Rogers stayed within spitting “Jordan clinched the match and just played unbelievably,” VU Head Coach Ian Duvenhage said. The Commodores will head to Athens on Sunday take on Georgia, currently the top team in the nation. Duvenhage says he’ll let the guys take in their victory over Tennessee before he begins to discuss Sunday’s contest. “I just want them to feel good about this one. I thought we did a great job against Mississippi State and this was a huge step up from that. We’ve just got to keep stepping it up,” Duvenhage said. RESULTS Singles Doubles Order of Finish: 3,2,1 |
