NASHVILLE, Tenn. — During Saturday’s doubleheader the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team earned a 7-0 victory against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs after falling 4-0 to the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks.
“We have to execute with more discipline,” Vandy head coach Ian Duvenhage said. “Our best is easily good enough to play and beat anybody but, in those situations, we have to be able to execute solidly. If we do, we’re going to be able to beat some really good teams.”
Going Against the Gamecocks
During the first match of the day, South Carolina’s momentum began with the top-ranked Connor Thomson/Toby Samuel and Jake Beasley/James Story duos clinching the doubles point at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots.
The Gamecocks clinched the victory in a second-set tie-break between Story and Vanderbilt senior Siim Troost on Court 4. Freshman Nathan Cox won his first set against No. 7-ranked singles player Thomson 6-2 and continued to fight through a tie-break in the second set (5-4).
The teams did not play out the remaining singles matches.
Battling the Bulldogs
Vanderbilt men’s tennis started off its second match of the day by clinching the doubles point to give the Dores a 1-0 lead. At No. 1 doubles, Cox and Troost won their match 6-1, followed by Joubert Klopper and Macsen Sisam winning 6-2 at the No. 2 spot.
All six Commodores won their first sets against their Bulldog opponents. Their momentum continued to build as Troost won his sets 6-1 and 6-0 at the No. 1 singles spot. Cox earned an additional point for Vanderbilt, finishing 6-0 and 6-2 on Court 1. Klopper’s victory at the No. 2 spot earned the Commodores’ fourth point and secured the victory. Sisam and Paul Wang also earned points for Vandy winning their matches in two sets. On Court 5, Mitchell Deames earned the sweep, winning his match in a 10-point tiebreaker.
On Deck: The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee on Thursday to compete against the No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers.
