March 17, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team hits the road this weekend, taking on the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday and in-state rival Tennessee on Sunday. Friday’s competiton kicksoff at 5:00 pm CT at the Boone Tennis Complex.
Heading into Friday’s first SEC road match, the `Dores own a 9-8 record, and 2-2 SEC slate. Vandy comes off two close losses against South Carolina (4-3) and the UGA Bulldogs (5-2). In their last outing, VU nearly earned the doubles point over the Dawgs, with Rhys Johnson and Cameron Klinger defeating the No. 5 team in the country. Pen Binet and Daniel Valent fell in a close tiebreaker 7-6(5).
In singles Klinger and Johnson brought in the victories with Klinger topping No. 25 Montgomery in straight sets. Individually, Valent is the Commodores sole ranked player coming in at No. 54 in the country and owns a 9-5 record as a sophomore at No. 1.
The Wildcats fell five spots to No. 17 in the latest rankings and own Kentucky an 11-3 slate on the season with a 3-1 SEC record. The Commodores enter hostile territory, as the wildcats are undefeated at home.
Two ranked Wildcats appear in the Oracle/ITA rankings with William Bushamuka leading the squad at No. 23 in the nation. Ryotaro Matsamura follows the sophomore at No. 108.