May 4, 2016 | Vanderbilt All-Americans
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — While the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team must still compete for a chance to play in Tulsa, Okla. three Commodores have locked spots at the host site with bids in the NCAA singles and doubles tournament.
The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 25-30 at the Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, following the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 19-24.
The NCAA tennis subcommittee selected the 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams, of those teams Daniel Valent was selected for singles play, and Rhys Johnson and Cameron Klinger will appear in the doubles tournament.
Helping headline the doubles draw is Vanderbilt’s senior/freshman duo of Johnson and Klinger, who earned a 5-8 seed. With the seed the tandem earn automatic All-American status, making Johnson a two-time automatic All-American and Klinger the first men’s tennis freshman to ever earn the accolade.
“I’m just really proud of them,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “We obviously knew what we had in Rhys because he was a returning All-American, and we put a freshman with Rhys at No.1 in Cameron Klinger and they stepped it up and really performed well together. They had a really good season, good enough to be seeded… and that’s terrific. To earn the title All-American is very difficult.”
Playing in the No. 1 doubles position is no easy feat as made evident by the NCAA subcommittee who selected four SEC schools out of the eight seeds.
“Cam has had a terrific year in single sand doubles, he’s ranked in both and I think he’s had a lot of challenges this year, but he’s come a long way not only on the court, but off and I’m proud of the progress he made in all areas.
Together, Johnson/Klinger have six ranked victories and clinched a team-high nine doubles points for the `Dores. The duo entered the ITA top-20 on April 5th and has climbed eight spots to No. 12 in the nation (updated rankings out 5/5/16).
“I’m also proud Rhys beaches his and Kris’ leadership showed though in the end of the season during the last few matches of the season against Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Alabama… we wouldn’t have made the tournament had we not made those wins. So I’m proud of Rhys and the leadership those two have shown.”
In singles, Valent, a native of Zurich, Switzerland earned his first NCAA singles bid. The sophomore encountered bumps and bruises at the No. 1 spot of the Commodore lineup, which is to be expected when you’re competing against the best players in the country, and generated eight ranked wins to his name this dual season and 11 overall.
“It doesn’t seem like going from 3-1 is a bug jump, but it is. the guys are consistently better performers on court one. And Danny was used to winning almost every time he stepped on the court. Initially he thought he could win all his matches, but learned the hard way that there are some very talented college tennis players to there so he’s had to learn a lot. He’s improved a lot in terms of his execution, but his biggest improvement I think came mentally and emotionally and that’s where the battle in tennis is… behind the ears.”
Prior to the start of the NCAA Singles and Doubles tournament, all three `Dores will travel across the country to Los Angeles for their NCAA team regional. Vandy takes on San Diego Friday, May 13th.