ATHENS, Ga. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team finished the first day of the Southern Collegiate Championships from the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia, 8-3 in singles play and 4-2 in doubles. The Commodores advance seven singles players and three doubles teams to the second day of action.
“We had a solid first day,” said VU head coach Ian Duvenhage. “Getting seven singles players through the first day is not bad, but it is only going to get tougher from here.”
The surprise of the day was the top-seeded Ryan Lipman falling to Rogerio Ribeiro of East Tennessee State 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
“I am pretty disappointed with the way the match went,” said Duvenhage. “Ryan did not play well at all, we are definitely hoping to see him play better in the consolation rounds.”
Fourth-seeded singles player Gonzales Austin was able to advance in straight-sets knocking off Laurynas Antropikas of Stetson 6-3, 6-1.
The younger players were impressive on Friday, in the round of 64. Rhys Johnson, Kris Yee, Ryan Smith and Pen Binet all picked up wins to advance to Saturday’s action.
“Our young guys played well,” Duvenhage said. “Pen did a good job in singles to pick up the win. Rhys did a great job of competing and found a way to get it done in the third set. Ryan (Smith) served very well today.”
Saturday’s action gets underway early, with the doubles round of 16 beginning at 8 a.m. The round of 32 singles play will begin at 9:30 for the Commodores. Duvenhage expressed what his team must do if they are to continue to go deep into the tournament.
“We need to execute in all facets of the game,” he said. “Some of our guys serve well and don’t return well and vice versa. If we can do both of those things well and keep the ball between the lines, we will be fine. ”
Friday Results
Division I Singles – Round of 64
Rogerio Ribeiro (ETSU) def. Ryan Lipman: 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Rhys Johnson def. Ahmed Triki (Barry): 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
Kris Yee def. Alejandro Gomez (Kentucky): 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
Gonzales Austin def. Laurynas Antropikas (Stetson): 6-3, 6-1
Ryan Smith def. Simon Julin (Stetson): 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
Roger Ordeig (ETSU) def. Jeffrey Offerdahl: 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
Division II Singles – Round of 64
Pen Binet def. Justin Guay (Portland): 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
Suresh Eswaran def. Cahit Kapukiran (Stetson): 7-6, 6-3
Anton Kovrigin def. Federico Sabogal (USF): 7-5, 7-6(5)
Division III Singles – First and Second Round
Mason Vierra def. Artem Tarasov (Tenn. Tech): 6-2, 6-1
Egor Panyushkin (Stetson) def. Mason Vierra: 1-6, 7-6, 6-1
Division I Doubles – Round of 64
Johnson/Smith (Vandy) def. Morin-Kougoucheff/Neuner (FAU): 8-3
Division I Doubles – Round of 32
Pieters/Wagland (UGA) def. Johnson/Smith (Vandy): 8-4
Austin/Lipman (Vandy) def. Brewer/Goodwin (Bama): 8-6
Division II Doubles – Round of 32
Kovrigin/Offerdahl (Vandy) def. Dubuque/Meade (FAU): 8-7(8)
Huertas/Yllera (ETSU) def. Yee/Vierra (Vandy): 8-2
Binet/Eswaran (Vandy) def. Vaughan/Llamas (Liberty): 8-6
Saturday Schedule
Division I Singles – Round of 32
Rhys Johnson vs. Carlos Benito (Georgia Tech): 9:30 a.m.
Kris Yee vs. Hernus Pieters (UGA): 9:30 a.m.
Gonzales Austin vs. Austin Ansari (Clemson): 9:30 a.m.
Ryan Smith vs. Rafael Rondino (UAB): 10 a.m.
Division II Singles – Round of 64
Pen Binet vs. Adam Jonsson (Lander): 11 a.m.
Suresh Eswaran vs. Daniel Strawn (Clemson): 12 p.m.
Anton Kovrigin vs. Alex Ferrero (Portland): 12:30 p.m.
Division I Doubles – Round of 16
Austin/Lipman (Vandy) vs. Helliar/Rondino (UAB): 8 a.m.
Division II Doubles – Round of 16
Kovrigin/Offerdahl (Vandy) vs. Samaai/Segur (Liberty): 8 a.m.
Binet/Eswaran (Vandy) def. Mohanty/Mohanty (Mercer): 8 a.m.
Division I Singles – Consolation First Round
Ryan Lipman vs. Alex Arovin (Tenn. Tech): 6 p.m.
Jeffrey Offerdahl vs. Joao Monteiro (Va. Tech): 8 p.m.
