May 21, 2018
Head coach Ian Duvenhage, Daniel Valent and George Harwell of the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team earned Ohio Valley Regional Awards as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Monday morning.
In his 13th season at the helm of men’s tennis, Duvenhage boasts 173 victories at Vanderbilt and 520 overall career wins. Duvenhage and assistant coach Ryan Lipman led the Dores to a a season-high ranking of No. 17 in the country and an 11-2 home record.
Previously this season, VU boasted a 10-match win streak – the longest streak since the 2002-03 season when the team went 27-4, won the SEC tournament and reached an NCAA championship final. The Commodores earned a trip back to the NCAA tournament in 2018, capping the season in the second round with a loss against Illionis.
Valent, a senior on the Commodore squad earned the coveted Ohio Valley Regional Senior Player of the Year Award. Valent is the first Commodore to earn the award since Gonzales Austin received the honor in 2015.
Harwell caps his debut season earning the Ohio Valley Regional Rookie of the Year award. Blake Bazarnik was the last Commodore to year the first year honor, back in 2011.
Valent, as well as junior Cameron Klinger and sophomore Billy Rowe will continue to represent Vanderbilt, as the trio will contend in the NCAA Singles and Double Tournament.
The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 23-28 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 18-22. Wake Forest University will serve as host.
- 12 singles victories on the dual season, playing at the No. 1 and No. 2 position
- Earned a season-high singles ranking of No. 25
- Boasting 107 victories, Valent sits just one victory away from breaking Vanderbilt’s all-time career singles win record
- Picked up three top-25 victories and two top-10 wins in singles
- Defeated Florida’s No. 6 Johannes Ingildsen 6-3, 7-6(4)
- Downed sixth-ranked Arthur Rinderknech of Texas A&M, 6-4, 4-6, 3-0, ret.
- Picked up a win over No. 22 Timo Stodder 6-4, 6-4
- 2017 Ohio Valley Regional Singles Champion
- Valent went 7-0 in the tournament, culminating with 6-1, 6-1 victory over Tennessee’s second-seeded Timo Stodder for the regional title
- Earned a top-10 victory, downing top-seeded No. 9 Bushamuka of UK in regional semifinals
- Valent became the first Commodore to win the regional event since current assistant coach Ryan Lipman accomplished the feat in 2013
- Clinched Vanderbilt’s 4-3 victory over Alabama
- Clinched doubles point over Northwestern and Alabama with Harwell, both 4-3 team victories
- Opened the fall on an 11-match winning streak, winning the Commodore Scramble and Ohio Valley Regional Championship
- 2017 ITA National Fall Championships
- 2016 First Team All-SEC
- 2015 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll
- 2014 Second Team All-SEC
- 2014 SEC All-Freshman Team
- Ohio Valley Player to Watch
- Named SEC Freshman of the Week (2/28)
- Owns 17 dual match victories, and just three losses while playing primarily at No. 6 singles
- Went undefeated in non-conference play
- Picked up first ranked victory of collegiate career against Columbia’s then-No. 122 Timothy Wang
- Clinched team victories over MTSU (4-3), SC (5-2) and LSU (7-0)
- Clinched doubles points over Northwestern and Alabama with Valent, both 4-3 team victories
- Rode an 11-match winning streak from Jan. 12 to Feb. 25, with every win coming in straight sets
- Picked up a victory in the Dores’ 4-3 tight loss to No. 1 Wake Forest
- Went undefeated at Longhorn Invitational
- Lost in the final of the Commodore Scramble to teammate Maxwell Freeman