March 19, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 68 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team travels to hostile territory this Sunday, March20th, as the squad takes on the Tennessee Volunteers (6-8, 0-2) at noon CT.
With Vanderbilt winning two of the last three competitions, Sunday’s rivalry match will be first competition played in Knoxville since the 2012-13 season.
In their last meeting the Commodores dominated Tennessee, 4-1, only dropping the doubles point with current Commodores, Daniel Valent and Baker Newman, earning victories in singles competition.
The Commodores head into their fourth conference competition on a high note, having just defeated the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats, 4-3, Friday night. Rhys Johnson sealed the deal for Vanderbilt, taking the third set breaker 7-6(1). The senior and Cameron Klinger have been an excellent No. 1 doubles team for VU, boasting a 13-3 overall record.
Individually, No. 56 Valent and Klinger have added support to the top half of the Vanderbilt singles lineup. As underclassmen, both student-athletes have winning records, with Klinger leading the squad with a 12-5 slate.
Both the Commodores and the Volunteers have one ranked tandems pair. VU’s Pen Binet and Valent sit at No. 76 in the country, while UTK’s Valero/Schipanski own a spot in the Oracle/ITA top 25 at No. 20.
For Commodore fans in the Knoxville area, the match is scheduled to be played outdoors at Barksdale Stadium. In the event of inclement weather, the match will be played inside Goodfriend Tennis Center next door.