OXFORD, Miss. – No. 16 Vanderbilt avenged its loss to Auburn from earlier in the season with a 4-1 victory over the 21st-ranked Tigers in the second round of the 2013 SEC Tournament Thursday afternoon at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The No. 7 seed Commodores (16-9) advance to play the No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers Friday at approximately 12 p.m. CT in the quarterfinals. With the loss, Auburn fell to 13-10 on the season.
“It was a great win for us,” said Vanderbilt head coach Ian Duvenhage. “They beat us in the regular season at our place. We knew it was going to be a tough match, but I am really proud of our team, especially given the fact that we had come off a bad weekend last weekend. We worked really hard at making a statement today and played a good match. We get a chance to face another great opponent tomorrow in Tennessee.”
To begin the match, Vanderbilt took the early lead after winning the doubles point. In the No. 1 doubles position, Gonzales Austin and Ryan Lipman teamed up to upset the fourth-ranked duo of Daniel Cochrane and Andreas Mies, 8-5. Suresh Eswaran and Jeff Offerdahl then clinched the point at the No. 3 spot over Lukas Ollert and Joseph Van Dooren, 8-5.
Vanderbilt had dropped the doubles point in its previous six matches, with the last win coming against Georgia on March 22.
Rhys Johnson started singles play with a dominating performance in the No. 6 position. The freshman breezed to a straight sets, 6-0, 6-1, win over Van Dooren to give Vanderbilt a 2-0 lead.
In No. 4 singles, Kris Yee recorded his 24th victory of the season with a 6-3, 6-2, win over No. 119 Lukas Ollert. Yee improved to 19-2 in dual play during his first season as a Commodore.
Austin secured the victory for Vanderbilt with his win in No. 2 singles. The Miami, Fla., native defeated Cochrane, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Austin is now 23-11 overall this season and 14-8 in dual competition.
Auburn’s lone victory came in the No. 3 position where Dennis Lengsfeld defeated Offerdahl, 7-5, 6-4.
Following the SEC Tournament, Vanderbilt will take the court next in NCAA Regional action beginning May 11-13 at campus sites to be announced after conference championships.
Singles Results
1. No. 13 Ryan Lipman (VU) vs. No. 28 Andreas Mies (AU) 6-3, 2-6, 3-3, unfinished
2. No. 51 Gonzales Austin (VU) def. No. 121 Daniel Cochrane (AU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
3. Dennis Lengsfeld (AU) def. Jeff Offerdahl (VU) 7-5, 6-4
4. Kris Yee (VU) def. No. 119 Lukas Ollert (AU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Marc van der Merwe (VU) vs. Lucas Lopasso (AU) 6-1, 6-7, unfinished
6. Rhys Johnson (VU) def. Joseph Van Dooren (AU) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles Results
1. Austin/Lipman (VU) def. No. 4 Cochrane/Mies (AU) 8-5
2. Johnson/van der Merwe (VU) vs. Lengsfeld/Lopasso (AU) 6-6, unfinished
3. Eswaran/Offerdahl (VU) def. Ollert/Van Dooren (AU) 8-5
Order of finish
Singles: 6,4,3,2
Doubles: 3,1
