Feb. 19, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 23 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team heads to Cambridge, Mass. to face the No. 34 Minnesota Gophers (7-1) Friday at 1 p.m. and the No. 25 Harvard Crimson (7-2) Sunday at Noon. This is only the second time the ‘Dores have hit the road during dual match season, as the squad traveled to Lexington, Ky. for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
The ‘Dores currently own a 7-2 record with losses to Northwestern and South Florida. Leading the Commodores are senior Gonzales Austin and freshman Daniel Valent who are both on eight and 12 match win streaks, respectively. Austin, a senior out of Miami, Fla., is four wins away from tying the Vanderbilt career singles record, which is currently held by Bobby Reynolds with 99 wins.
VU has won its last four matches and as these are the last two non-conference competitions before SEC play begins, the ‘Dores hope to capitalize on the experience.
During their last meeting, Vandy swept Minnesota 7-0 in 2013. The Crimson holds a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series, last defeating the Commodores 4-3 in 2013. Harvard currently is undefeated at home, owning a 4-0 record this year.
Rhys Johnson and Austin are the highest ranked doubles team this weekend, as they are the No. 2 tandem in the nation. Austin will also be the highest ranked player out of this weekend’s challengers, coming in at No. 8 in the latest ITA rankings.
Harvard boasts two ranked singles players at No. 80 and 91, and one top-15 doubles team in Denis Nguyen and Brian Yeung. The Gophers Mathieu Froment and Jack Hamburg are currently the No. 52 doubles team. In singles action Minnesota has one ranked student-athlete, with Leondro Toledo coming in at No. 25.
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