NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The 18th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team could never gain any momentum as the No. 8 Aggies of Texas A&M quickly won the doubles point, which they turned into a 4-0 shutout of the Commodores, at the Currey Tennis Center Sunday afternoon.
The match lasted just over two hours, with doubles taking up all of 30 minutes. Vanderbilt (11-3, 2-1) immediately dug itself into a hole getting down 7-love at No. 2 and No. 3.
Vandy’s No. 2 team of Ryan Smith and Rhys Johnson salvaged one game but fell 8-1, as Texas A&M’s Shane Vinsant and Harrison Adams clinched the doubles point.
Suresh Eswaran and Jeffrey Offerdahl were the first to come off the court, falling to No. 37 Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo, 8-0.
In a battle of top five teams, Vandy’s top team of No. 5 Ryan Lipman and Gonzales Austin went unfinished against top-ranked Junior Ore and Jackson Withrow. The match finished with both teams staying on serve with the Commodores serving 3-4.
Singles was no different, as the Commodores lost all six first sets to the Aggies.
Texas A&M kept its momentum rolling at three, five and six singles. The Commodores never really got anything going and dropped all three matches in straight sets, never winning more than three games.
Anton Kovrigin fell 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5 to Jackson Withrow, putting the Aggies went up 2-0. Johnson lost to No. 38 Efferding at No. 3, 6-2, 6-2; and A&M clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 6 over Offerdahl.
At No. 1, 15th-ranked Austin was in a tight match with No. 11 Adams. In the first set, both players stayed on serve until the seventh game when Adams earned a break to go up 4-3. Both players would continue to trade breaks until Adams held to win the set 7-5.
Austin was in full control in the second set, and was leading 4-1 when the match was stopped.
Both Lipman and Kris Yee went unfinished in their second sets when the match was clinched. Lipman was up a break at No. 2, while Yee and Ore were on serve at No. 4.
The Commodores will be back in action next weekend, as they take on Ole Miss (Fri.) and Mississippi State (Sun.) at the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville.
#8 Texas A&M 4, #18 Vanderbilt 0
Singles competition
1. #15 Gonzales Austin (VU) vs. #11 Harrison Adams (TAMU) 5-7, 4-1, unfinished
2. #122 Ryan Lipman (VU) vs. #26 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) 2-6, 4-3, unfinished
3. #38 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) def. Rhys Johnson (VU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Kris Yee (VU) vs. Junior Ore (TAMU) 4-6, 2-2, unfinished
5. Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Anton Kovrigin (VU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Jordan Szabo (TAMU) def. Jeffrey Offerdahl (VU) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #5 Gonzales Austin/Ryan Lipman (VU) vs. #1 Junior Ore/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) 3-4, unfinished
2. Shane Vinsant/Harrison Adams (TAMU) def. Rhys Johnson/Ryan Smith (VU) 8-1
3. #37 Jeremy Efferding/Jordan Szabo (TAMU) def. Suresh Eswaran/Jeffrey Offerdahl (VU) 8-0
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 12-5; National ranking #8
Vanderbilt 11-3; National ranking #18
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,3,6)
T-2:10
