Jan. 29, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn – The No. 26 Vanderbilt Commodores play host to the No. 53 Indiana Hoosiers Friday at 2p.m. Vandy returns to action on Sunday, taking on No. 48 Michigan on the indoor courts of the Currey Tennis Center at 1 p.m.
The Commodores now own a 4-2 mark after participating in the Lexington, Ky. ITA Kick-Off Weekend. On day one, the Commodores fell 3-4 to a strong No. 20 South Florida team. No. one seed Kentucky also suffered an upset loss at the hands of No. 26 Penn State. The Two SEC opponents squared off Saturday and for the third time in a row the match was down to No. 6 singles. Senior Suresh Eswaran brought home the 4-3 win for the `Dores in a 7-6(4), 6-1 victory.
With the win over No. 96 Beck Pennington, Gonzales Austin recorded his 50th dual singles win as a Commodore. Austin, alongside freshman Daniel Valent are both undefeated in dual match play. Valent, a native of Zurich, Switerland, is currently on a nine-match win streak, which dates back to November. For his achievments in the black and gold, Valent was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 21st. On a team note, Vandy has not dropped the doubles point so far this season.
`Dores in the rankings:
Singles:
Gonzales Austin; No. 10
Rhys Johnson; No. 77
Doubles:
Austin/Johnson; No. 5
Scouting the Hoosiers:
No. 53 Indiana travels to West End coming off two 4-3 road wins at Cornell and Dartmouth. Sophomore, Matthew McCoy clinched both matches in the No. 4 spot of the Indian lineup.
During tournament season the Commodores’ Kris Yee defeated Indiana’s Sam Monette and Chris Essick in three sets during the Ohio Valley Regional in October. The last time the two schools squared-off in dual season, Vanderbilt came out victorious with a 4-2 win in Bloomington.
Scouting the Wolverines:
Michigan is off to a 1-2 start, opening its season with a 6-1 victory over Western Michigan. The Wolverines dropped both of its matches while in Austin, Texas participating in the ITA Kick-Off. With losses to Florida State and Minnesota, the `Dores will be U-M’s third ranked opponent in a row. Redshirted freshman, Alex Knight, is Michigan’s sole ranked player, coming in at No. 100.
Last season the Wolverines defeated the Commodores in Ann Arbor, 5-2.