May 26, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. – Vanderbilt freshman Ryan Lipman earned the first postseason win of his career on Wednesday when he defeated 25th-ranked Thibaut Charron of Virginia Commonwealth in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship.
Lipman, the SEC Co-Freshman of the Year battled back after losing the first set, 4-6, to win the second set 6-4 and went up 3-0 in the third set before Charron retired from the match due to injury.
“Charron really played as well of a first set as anyone I’ve seen in college tennis,” Head Coach Ian Duvenhage said. “I just told Ryan to stay in there and keep working hard. He stayed with it and his conditioning paid off.”
The injury was sustained during a long rally in the second set when the set was tied at four games apiece. Lipman’s shots were taking Charron from side to side on the courts before Charron fell into a wall.
The NCAA Tournament win was the first by a Commodore since Ryan Preston in 2007. Ranked 34th-nationally, Lipman is now 23-13 on the season.
Lipman will now face Ohio State’s Chase Buchanan in the second round of the tournament on Thursday. Buchanan is the seventh overall seed in the tournament. The time for that match will be 9 a.m. CT on Thursday. Buchanan and Lipman last met in the 2009 USTA Boys’ 18 National Championship, which was won by Buchanan, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, on Aug. 16.
“I know Ryan is excited about the matchup,” Duvenhage said. “I was unable to see the two play in August, so I am eager to see how far Ryan has come as a player.”
The NCAA singles bracket is consistently updated throughout the day and can be found here.