Sept. 22, 2016
Southern Intercollegaites Draw 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tournament season is finally here form Vanderbilt men’s tennis. This weekend the squad kicks off fall ball in Athens, Ga. competing in the 49th annual Southern Intercollegiate Championships.
“Southern Intercollegiaes is a tough tournament,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “It’s also a good tournament because there are also some Mid-American conference teams mixed in where you have the opportunity to win some matches and build confidence. If you do well in this tournament, then it’s inevitable that you’ve beaten some really good players… so this tournament is the best of both worlds early in the season.”
A total of 170 singles players and 81 doubles pairs representing 32 different schools will travel to Bulldog country this weekend.
This year’s competition includes student-athletes from the following schools; Arkansas, Armstrong State, Baylor, Belmont, Central Florida, Clemson, East Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, Elon, Florida, Gardner-Webb, Georgia, Georgia College, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Kentucky, Lander, Lipscomb, Louisville, Miami, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, UNC Charlotte, Old Dominion, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.
Taking place at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, the Commodores look forward to retuning to Southern Intercollegiates after then-freshman, Baker Newman, advanced all the way to his flight final in 2014.
The 2016-17 season Commodore squad consists of seven returning players, including All-American Cameron Klinger, first-team All-SECer Daniel Valent and lone senior and captain, Pen Binet. Two talented fresh faces complete the nine-person Vanderbilt team. Binet is not expected to compete in this weekend’s tournament.
“I think we have a really good team mentality heading into tournament season,” said Valent. “We have two new freshmen that are very determined and motived. New teammates always motivates the rest of us, and we’re all working and pushing each other.”
Billy Rowe and Panu Virtanen will be donning the black and gold for the first time this weekend. Rowe, a native of Coronado, Calif., came in as a five-star recruit and is a fourth generation collegiate tennis player. Virtanen hails from Helsinki, Finland and chose Vanderbilt for its great mix of academics and athletics.
“I played pretty well last year, but coming in as a freshman, college tennis is definitely daunting,” said Klinger, a sophomore. “Being a part of a team is a completely new experience and at the same time it’s a lot of fun. I know what to expect now, and we’re all looking forward to seeing how the freshmen handle the change this year.”
Tournament Format:
The field will be divided into three singles divisions and two doubles divisions. Play is scheduled to begin Friday at 9 a.m. CT with Division I and II singles matches at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. All Division III matches on Friday will be played at the UGA intramural courts, with Day One action set to conclude with Divisions I and II doubles. Draws have not been finalized yet, but will be sent out and posted when they have been completed.