NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team closed out the Commodore Scramble earning three singles victories and a lone doubles victory on Sunday.
“Today was pretty up and down which is probably not too surprising given the fact that we’ve only had three practices and it’s very early in the season. The big benefit of the tournament is that it shows us where we have to make improvements so we’ll get back to work on Tuesday,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage.
Collecting the Commodores’ first victory of the day, sophomore Christiaan Worst and freshman Keaton Allwardt took on Ole Miss duo Slavic and Wilson. In a close match, the doubles tandem stood strong to defeat the Rebel pair in the tiebreak, 8-7 (7).
Competing in the doubles final, senior Billy Rowe and junior Max Freeman faced off against Lipscomb pair, Chaw and Uribe. Lipscomb took an early lead over the Commodore pair and held strong to claim the title with an 8-6 victory.
Opening the round of singles, freshman James Ignatowich fought in the finals of the Chad Harris draw against Tennessee Tech’s Grubert. Ignatowich earned a slow start falling short to Grubert, 6-3. In the second set, the freshman’s comeback fell short with a 7-5 defeat.
In the singles final of the Gonzalez Austin draw, Rowe faced fellow teammate, junior George Harwell. Harwell commanded an early lead over Rowe taking the first set, 6-3. Fighting back to claim the second set, Rowe secured the tiebreak, 7-6. Battling in a 10-point tiebreaker to decide the match, Rowe clinched the title with an 1-0 (9) victory in the tiebreaker.
“I thought the match between Billy Rowe and George Harwell was a very good match. The quality of the tennis was very high,” said Duvenhage.
The Commodores will be back in action on October 5 competing in the ITA All-Americans in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
To keep up with the Dores as they prepare, follow @VandyMTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
Vanderbilt Results
Doubles
Court 1 – Chaw/Uribe (LIP) def. Rowe/Freeman (VU) 8-6
Court 2 – Bogdanovich/Skrabut (LIP) vs. Lee/Virtanen (VU) – Vandy Withdrew
Court 3 – Allwardt/Worst (VU) def. Slavic/Wison (Ole Miss) 8-7 (7)
Court 4 – De Vincentis/Chavarria (AU) def. Harwell/Ignatowich (VU) 8-5
Court 5 – Kelly/Rios (BU/Ole Miss) def. Ferreira/Sraberg (VU) 8-5
Singles
Court 1 – Billy Rowe (VU) def. Harwell (VU) 3-6, 7-6, 11-9
*Winner of Gonzales Austin Singles Draw*
Court 2 – Grubert (TTU) def. Ignatowich (VU) 6-3, 7-5
*Winner of Chad Harris Singles Draw*
Court 3 – Worst (VU) def. Sraberg (VU) 6-4, 6-4
Court 4 – Ferreira (VU) def. Vicente (TTU) 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
Court 5 – Durham (AU) def. Allwardt (VU) 6-3, 6-2
Court 6 – Tosetto (TTU) def. Freeman (VU) 6-0, 6-1
