NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 15 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team fell just short in the ITA Kick-off opener against No. 20 Texas, falling 4-0, Saturday, at the Currey Tennis Center.
After getting down 1-4 at both two and three doubles, the Commodores were able to rally back to force tiebreaks at both positions. At No. 2 Rhys Johnson and Ryan Smith took the first match, cruising to a 7-2 win the breaker.
At No. 1 doubles, 2nd-ranked Ryan Lipman and Gonzales Austin had two match points, but 5th-ranked Soren Hess-Olesen and Lloyd Glasspool were able to fight back to win 9-7 in the break.
Shortly after their win at No. 1, the Longhorns clinched the doubles point with a 6-5 (7-5) win at No. 3 .
Texas jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after doubles, with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5 over Vandy’s Kris Yee.
No. 57 Rhys Johnson dropped his first set 6-4, to No. 24 George Goldhoff. Johnson and Goldhoff stayed on serve in the second set, forcing a tie-break at 5-all. The two went back-and-forth in the breaker until Goldhoff won three-straight points to take the match 6-4, 6-5 (7-3).
Down 3-0, Lipman had his back against the wall at No. 2 singles. The redshirt senior dropped his opening set 7-5 in a tiebreak, and was down 0-5 in the second set. He was able to work the set back to 3-5 and then get a big break at 40-all forcing a chance to serve for a tiebreak. Texas’ Glasspool would, however, break to win the game and clinch the match for the Longhorns.
At the time of the clinch, 9th-ranked Austin was winning 3-1 in the third set at No. 1 singles, over No. 75 Hess-Olesen.
Vanderbilt will resume action, Sunday at 10 a.m., against either No. 23 LSU or No. 19 Wake Forest.
Singles competition
1. #9 Gonzales Austin (VU) vs. #75 Soren Hess-Olesen (TEX) 3-6, 6-3, 3-1, unfinished
2. #35 Lloyd Glasspool (TEX) def. Ryan Lipman (VU) 6-5 (7-5), 6-4
3. #24 George Goldhoff (TEX) def. #57 Rhys Johnson (VU) 6-4, 6-5 (7-3)
4. Anton Kovrigin (VU) vs. Adrien Berkowicz (TEX) 6-4, 1-6, 0-4, unfinished
5. Nick Naumann (TEX) def. Kris Yee (VU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Jeffrey Offerdahl (VU) vs. Clement Homs (TEX) 2-5, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #5 Soren Hess-Olesen/Lloyd Glasspool (TEX) def. #2 Gonzales Austin/Ryan Lipman (VU) 6-5 (9-7)
2. Rhys Johnson/Ryan Smith (VU) def. Nick Naumann/David Holiner (TEX) 6-5 (7-2)
3. George Goldhoff/Jacoby Lewis (TEX) def. Suresh Eswaran/Kris Yee (VU) 6-5 (7-5)
Match Notes:
Texas 4-0; National ranking #20
Vanderbilt 2-1; National ranking #15
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,3,2)
ITA Kick-off match – #1 seed vs. #4 seed
T-2:24
