NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 37 Memphis Tigers forced the Dores to the last court on Friday, defeating the No. 43 Vanderbilt Commodores 4-3 in a dog fight of a match.
Memphis took an early lead, sweeping the three doubles matches. Johnny Grimal and Leon Nasemann set Vanderbilt back early with an 8-6 win over Alex DiValerio and Jeff Offerdahl. The Tigers clinched the point just a few minutes later, stopping a rally attempt by Charlie Jones and Anton Kovrigin.
Blake Bazarnik and Gonzales Austin, battling it out on the first court, but were bested in the end 8-5.
With the Tigers leading 1-0, the teams headed to singles play. Jones swiftly tied things up with his 6-0, 6-2 win over David O’Hare.
Austin gave the Dores the edge, winning in split sets over Joe Salisbury to give Vanderbilt a 2-1 lead. But Memphis tied the match as Connor Glennon beat Kovrigin in straight sets, taking the second in a 7-5 tiebreaker.
Offerdahl, taking the court in the No. 6 position, followed in Jones’ shoes, netting back-to-back sets for a 6-1, 6-0 win.
Now up 3-2, it came down to freshman Joe Dorn and sophomore Bazarnik’s courts.
Dorn battled back after dropping his first set 6-1 to even his match with a 6-2 second set. Dorn forced a third set tiebreaker, before losing the last two points 9-7.
With the match tied 3-3 and the win on the line, Bazarnik went into his third set, but the grueling match took its toll and he dropped it 6-1.
Memphis remains perfect on the season, extending their record to 6-0, while the Commodores fall to 4-4.
Vanderbilt will host UAB on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
Coach’s Thoughts:
“We are 4 points away from being 7-1 instead of 4-4. We had match points against Harvard, we had match points today. We’re a young team, and sometimes these are the growing pains you have to go through.”
Results:
Singles:
1. #66 Charlie Jones (VU) def. #114 David O’Hare (UM) 6-0, 6-2
2. Gonzales Austin (VU) def. Joe Salisbury (UM) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0
3. Blake Bazarnik (VU) vs Johnny Grimal (UM)
4. Connor Glennon (UM) def. Anton Kovrigin (VU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Leon Nasemann (UM) def. Joe Dorn (VU) 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(9-7)
6. Jeff Offerdahl (VU) def. Cedric De Zutter (UM) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles:
1. David O’Hare-Joe Salisbury (UM) def. #45 Gonzales Austin-Blake Bazarnik (VU) 8-5
2. Connor Glennon-David Henry (UM) def. Charlie Jones-Anton Kovrigin (VU) 8-6
3. Johnny Grimal-Leon Nasemann (UM) def. Alex DiValerio-Jeff Offerdahl (VU) 8-6
Match Notes:
#43 Vanderbilt, 4-4
#37 Memphis, 6-0
Order of Finish: Singles (1,2,4,6,5,3) Doubles (3,2,1)
