NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 44 Vanderbilt defeated No. 42 Middle Tennessee State, 6-1, Friday afternoon at the Currey Tennis Center.
With the win, the Commodores improved to 3-2 on the season, while Middle Tennessee State dropped to 3-2 overall. Vanderbilt has now won six-straight dual matches versus the Blue Raiders.
In No. 1 doubles, Ryan Lipman and Rhys Johnson defeated Yannick Born and Marlon Brand, 8-4. It’s only the third time this season, Lipman and Johnson have paired up in doubles (2-1).
The Commodores then clinched the doubles point with a win in No. 2 doubles. Gonzales Austin and Marc van der Merwe combined to take down MTSU’s Christoph Lang and Victor Cornea, 8-6. The Vandy duo played their first doubles match together.
MTSU came away with a win in No. 3 doubles, as Ben Davis and David Fox defeated Jeff Offerdahl and Suresh Eswaran, 8-7(5).
In singles action, Lipman and Offerdahl extended Vanderbilt’s lead to 3-0. Lipman defeated Cornea in No. 2 singles, 6-3, 6-1. The redshirt junior is 14-5 on the season and 4-1 in dual play. Offerdahl defeated Born, 6-4, 6-3, in No. 4 singles.
Middle Tennessee got on the board with its only point after a win in No. 3 singles. The Blue Raiders’ Lang knocked off Johnson in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. The loss snapped a three-match winning streak for Johnson.
In No. 1 singles, Vanderbilt’s Austin clinched the win for the Commodores with his victory over No. 101 (Ben) Davis, 6-2, 6-3. The Miami, Fla., native is 13-4 on the season overall.
The Commodores put the finishing touches on the win, as van der Merwe won the singles at No. 5. The freshman from Stellenbosch, South Africa, defeated Ettore Zito, 6-4, 7-6(10-8).
Kris Yee won a shortened match in No. 6 singles over (David) Fox, 6-3.
Vanderbilt hits the road to Chicago next weekend to take on Northwestern (Feb. 8) and Harvard (Feb. 10).
Singles Results
1. No. 20 Gonzales Austin (Vanderbilt) def. No. 101 Ben Davis (MTSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. No. 17 Ryan Lipman (Vanderbilt) def. Victor Cornea (MTSU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Christoph Lang (MTSU) def. Rhys Johnson (Vanderbilt) 6-4, 6-3
4. Jeff Offerdahl (Vanderbilt) def. Yannick Born (MTSU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Marc van der Merwe (Vanderbilt) def. Ettore Zito (MTSU) 6-4, 7-6(10-8)
6. No. 114 Kris Yee (Vanderbilt) def. David Fox (MTSU) 6-3
Doubles Results
1. Lipman/Johnson (Vanderbilt) def. Born/Brand (MTSU) 8-4
2. Austin/van der Merwe (Vanderbilt) def. Lang/Cornea (MTSU) 8-6
3. Davis/Fox (MTSU) def. Offerdahl/Eswaran (Vanderbilt) 8-7(5)
