May 28, 2008
The 2007-08 season for Vanderbilt’s men’s tennis team was filled with numerous highlights that encompassed one of the most successful seasons in recent years. Led by third-year head coach Ian Duvenhage, the Commodores advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row and finished the season ranked No. 26 with a 14-10 overall record and 4-7 mark in the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference.
Vanderbilt’s win total and final ranking were its best since the 2004 season when the team earned 16 wins en route to a final ranking of No. 16. However, this year’s success shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Since taking over the reigns of the program prior to the 2005-06 season, Duvenhage has increased Vanderbilt’s win total each season. He has taken the team from 7-14 in 2006 to 11-13 in 2007 and 14-10 in 2008. The team has also improved its ranking each year from No. 71 in 2006 to No. 37 in 2007 and No. 26 in 2008.
Making this season even more successful than the past two, was Vanderbilt’s strong play in the postseason. After upsetting No. 18 Tulsa in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Vanderbilt advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row by knocking off No. 38 Indiana, 4-3. In the SEC Tournament, the Commodores defeated No. 46 Arkansas, 4-3, in the first round to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2003.
Including its triumphs over Indiana and Arkansas in the postseason, 11 of Vanderbilt’s 14 wins came against ranked opponents. Reinforcing just how solid Vanderbilt was this season, all 10 of the team’s losses came against ranked opponents. Not only that, but seven of Vanderbilt’s 10 losses were against teams that advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
After having a successful fall campaign, the Commodores opened the spring season on fire by winning their first five matches of the season before falling at No. 18 Michigan, 5-2. Vanderbilt’s loss at Michigan would be its only blemish in a non-conference slate where the Commodores finished 9-1.
In conference play, Vanderbilt finished fourth in the SEC East, but it should be noted that the three teams that finished ahead of the Commodores (Georgia, Florida and Tennessee) were all ranked in the top 10 and advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament with Georgia winning the national championship for the second year in a row.
The 2008 season will also be remembered for the unseasonable weather conditions that kept the Commodores indoors for seven of their 11 home matches. Despite having to play the bulk of its matches inside the Currey Tennis Center, Vanderbilt still finished the home slate with a 9-2 record.
The first match Vanderbilt was able to play outdoors was on March 2 against South Carolina. Although no one knew it at the time, the match would also be a sign of things to come for the Commodores. The Commodores lost the doubles point and trailed the Gamecocks 3-1 before rallying for a 4-3 win. Clinching the win was Nick Cromydas, who dropped the first set in the No. 2 position, 6-2, before rallying to win the second and third set in a tiebreaker.
The comeback by Cromydas was just one of many examples of determination shown by the Commodores in 2008. Including its win over South Carolina, each of Vanderbilt’s final five victories of the season came by the score of 4-3. Not only were Vanderbilt’s last five wins by one point, but all five of the wins also came after losing the doubles point. In fact, the Commodores lost the doubles point in 11 straight matches beginning on March 9 at LSU and continuing until the final match of the season when Vanderbilt took two out of three doubles matches from Ole Miss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Following its dramatic win over the Gamecocks, Vanderbilt embarked on its longest road trip of the season. After defeating Northwestern, 6-1, in what was a homecoming of sorts for Vanderbilt’s three Illinois natives, the Commodores dropped a season-high three straight matches, losing at Arkansas (4-3), LSU (6-1) and Auburn (5-2).
Having lost three straight matches, Vanderbilt’s most pivotal match of the season may have come against No. 23 Alabama on March 23. In the match the Commodores showed no signs of any lack of confidence that may have come from the losing streak. Instead the Commodores staged another typical comeback. Just like when it rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat South Carolina, Vanderbilt once again won the final three singles matches to clinch a 4-3 win over the Crimson Tide.
After defeating Alabama, the Commodores closed the season by winning two of their final five matches. Vanderbilt topped No. 38 Mississippi State on March 30 and concluded the regular season with a win at No. 40 Kentucky on April 12. During that stretch, all three of VU’s losses came against teams that were ranked in the top 10. Two of the losses came on a grueling weekend trip to Tennessee and Georgia.
With Vanderbilt posting its first road SEC win of the season at Kentucky, the Commodores traveled to the SEC Tournament in Fayetteville, Ark. Facing host Arkansas in the first round of the tournament, the Commodores won a dramatic 4-3 decision that was clinched by James Moye. In the quarterfinals, Vanderbilt fell, 4-2, to top-seeded Georgia.
Despite the loss to Georgia, the Commodores were still selected to play in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in the last eight years. In the tournament, the Commodores moved to 8-0 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a, 4-3, win over No. 38 Indiana. The win was also Vanderbilt’s fifth in a row by the score of 4-3.
In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Vanderbilt looked like it may pull the upset over No. 4 Ole Miss when it won the doubles point for the first time in 12 matches to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Unfortunately the doubles point would be VU’s lone point of the match, as the Rebels prevailed, 4-1.
Behind the success experienced by the team was the success of many strong individual performances. Led by seniors Ryan Preston and Evan Dufaux, the Commodores were an extremely young team in 2008 with only three upperclassmen (junior Nick Cromydas) on the roster.
On the court, the Commodores were led by Preston, who earned first team All-SEC honors and became just the fourth player in school history to be a three-time All-SEC selection.
As the team’s No. 1 singles player for the third year in a row, Preston defeated five ranked players, including No. 2 Greg Ouellette of Florida. The Northbrook, Ill., native also won SEC Player of the Week honors on Feb. 19, becoming VU’s first recipient of the award since 2003.
Preston’s success on the court also earned him a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship for the third year in a row, where he lost to No. 1 Somdev Devvarman of Virginia, who went on to win the singles title for the second year in a row.
Off the court, Preston was named to the second team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV team. Preston was also Vanderbilt’s male recipient of the SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Postgraduate Scholarship.
Also earning individual accolades this season were Dufaux and freshman Alex Zotov. Dufaux, who is joining the Peace Corps, was named to the SEC Community Service team and Zotov was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 29 after clinching VU’s opening win against Michigan State.
Sophomore Vijay Paul tied Zotov for the team lead with 22 wins, but it may have been the play of Cromydas down the stretch that was most impressive. After battling injuries in the fall, Cromydas was Vanderbilt’s most consistent player at the end of the season and won his final four matches of the year. He also was the only Vanderbilt player to finish with a winning record in the SEC (6-5).
Also ending the season on high notes were sophomore James Moye and freshmen Bryant Salcedo and Adam Baker. With the loss of Preston and Dufaux, sophomore Scott Lieberman and freshman Andy Pulido should both be in the mix to contribute next season after getting a season under their belts.
In addition to the team’s success on the court, the Commodores also succeeded in the classroom. The team posted a team GPA of 3.2 for the year and eight members of the team posted GPAs of 3.0 or higher in the spring semester.
With the loss of just two players to graduation, coupled with the return of over 71 percent of its singles wins in dual matches, Vanderbilt should be poised for another successful season next year.