Men's tennis starts strong at Georgia Tech Invitational

Atlanta, Ga. – Kicking off the Georgia Tech Invitational, Vanderbilt men’s tennis earned four victories in singles play and conquered three doubles matches.
 
Starting the Dores off in singles play, senior Alex Ross competed in the white main draw earning a victory against Patrick Lazo from Georgia State, 6-4, 6-3. That match was followed by a win from junior Panu Virtanen who competed against Georgia’s Alex Diza in a straight-set win, 6-4, 6-4.
                
Friday was a strong day for sophomore Commodores, with both Max Freeman and George Harwell earning match victories against their opponents.
 
Freeman earned a straight-set win against Yancy Dennis from South Carolina, 6-3, 6-3 while Harwell defeated Georgia State’s Bailey Showers. Harwell fell short in the first set, 0-6, but bounced back strong in the second set to earn a set win, 6-4. Maintaining momentum, Harwell clinched the match in the third set, 6-3.
 
Heading into doubles play, the Dores saw three victories overall, with Marcus Ferreira and Adam Sraberg competing as a duo against Georgia’s Britton Johnston and Sam Dromsky. Ferreira and Sraberg clinched an 8-4 win.
 
Competing in the Olde Gold main draw, Dore duo Freeman and Harwell continued their winning streak and earned two match wins over Virginia Tech’s Donato/Kris; 8-7 (4-0) and Georgia’s Diaz/Loeb; 8-6.
 
Vanderbilt head coach Ian Duvenhage said he was proud of the accomplishments of Harwell and Freeman along with Virtanen and Ross, but he said he hopes to see overall team improvement in Saturday’s competition.
 
“Max Freeman and George Harwell had a good day in doubles winning two matches. They, along with Panu Virtanen and Alex Ross, played well and won their singles matches. The rest of the team didn’t play very well today but I’m interested to see how they bounce back tomorrow,” said Duvenhage.
 
The Dores continue competition in the Georgia Tech Invitational on Saturday as they compete in rounds two and three of singles play.
 
Follow along with the Commodores in Atlanta by following @Vandymenstennis on Twitter.
 
All Vanderbilt day 1 results are listed below:
 
Singles:
 
Andrei Duarte (Georgia State) def. Vikram Chari (Vanderbilt) 6-1, 7-6 (0-2)
Brandon Freestone (Georgia Tech) def. Adam Sraberg (Vanderbilt) 6-1, 6-1
Alex Ross (Vanderbilt) def. Patrick Lazo (Georgia State) 6-4, 6-3
Jake Beasley (South Carolina) def. Jack Lee (Vanderbilt) 6-2, 6-4
Cole Gromley (Georgia Tech) def. Marcus Ferreira (Vanderbilt) 6-2, 6-1
George Harwell (Vanderbilt) def. Bailey Showers (Georgia State) 0-6, 6-4, 6-3
Panu Virtanen (Vanderbilt) def. Alex Diaz (Georgia) 6-4, 6-4
Max Freeman (Vanderbilt) def. Yancy Dennis (South Carolina) 6-3, 6-3
 
Doubles:
 
Cole Gromley/Joseph Gandolfo (Georgia Tech) def. Vikram Chari/Alex Ross (Vanderbilt) 8-1
Marcus Ferreira/Adam Sraberg (Vanderbilt) def. Britton Johnston/Sam Dromsky (Georgia) 8-4
Rafael Lambling/Daniel Rodrigues (South Carolina) def. Jack Lee/Panu Virtanen (Vanderbilt) 8-3
Max Freeman/George Harwell (Vanderbilt) def. Carlo Donato/Ryan Kros (Virginia Tech) 8-7 (4-0)
Blake Croyder/Alex Phillips (Georgia) def. Vikram Chari/Alex Ross (Vanderbilt) 8-7 (1-0)
Chris Yun/Andrew Li (Georgia Tech) def. Marcus Ferreira/Adam Sraberg (Vanderbilt) 8-0
Max Freeman/George Harwell (Vanderbilt) def. Alex Diaz/Robert Loeb (Georgia) 8-6