NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 28 Vanderbilt built a 3-0 lead en route to posting a 5-2 win over Middle Tennessee State on Saturday at the Currey Tennis Center. The win was Vanderbilt’s third in a row and second in as many days.
The Commodores (4-2) took a 3-0 lead in the match before MTSU (2-2) rallied by winning two straight matches to pull within one, 3-2. With the match tightening up, Vanderbilt sophomore Alex Zotov snapped his two-match losing streak and clinched the overall match with a, 6-2, 6-2, win over Kyle Wishing in the No. 6 position. The match was much different than Friday’s where the Commodores shutout Memphis, 7-0.
“I am happy that we pulled out another win although I’m not nearly as happy as I was yesterday with how we did it,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Ian Duvenhage said. “We pride ourselves on being tougher, more under control and cooler under pressure, and I felt on a number of instances today we looked a little rattled. We were good enough to pull this one out in spite of it, but we are going to pay for it if we keep doing that.”
Vanderbilt took the first two completed doubles matches to clinch the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead for the second match in a row. The Commodores have now won the doubles point in four out of six matches this season.
Picking up Vanderbilt’s first win in doubles play was the duo of Alex DiValerio and Charlie Jones. The freshmen made quick work of MTSU’s team of Kyle Wishing and Alex MCann in the No. 3 position. The win was their second in a row after dropping two straight.
Clinching the doubles point was Nick Cromydas and Bryant Salcedo, who also won their second match in a row with an 8-2 win over Morgan Richard and Victor Melo in the No. 2 position. The duo jumped out to a 3-1 lead and never looked back in moving their record to 3-3 this spring.
In the No. 1 position, Vanderbilt’s 32nd-ranked tandem of Adam Baker and Alex Zotov had its perfect record in dual play come to an end with an 8-4 loss to MTSU’s team of Robert McKenzie and John Peers. Baker and Zotov were down 4-1 and got as close as one at 5-4, but were unable to muster enough steam pull ahead. The loss dropped the duo’s record to 12-5 this year.
In singles competition, Vanderbilt was able to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the match after Charlie Jones dispatched of MTSU’s Alex McCann, 6-1, 6-3, in the No. 5 singles slot. The win for Jones was his third in a row as he pushed his record to 4-0 in the No. 5 position.
The ‘Dores extended their lead to three (3-0) when Bryant Salcedo got past MTSU’s Victor Melo in the No. 2 position after Melo retired in the third set with a leg injury. Melo took the first set 6-1 before Salcedo rallied back to take the second, 6-2. Salcedo was winning 3-2 in the second set when Melo suffered his injury. From that point on Salcedo won the final three games of the second set and the first two of the third set before Melo retired. Salcedo is now 3-0 in the No. 2 position this spring.
MTSU would then post two straight wins to pull within one. The points came after wins by John Peers over Vijay Paul in the No. 3 position and Robert McKenzie over Nick Cromydas in the No. 1 position.
With the Commodores leading by one, they were in need of a win by Adam Baker in the No. 4 position or Alex Zotov in the No. 6 position. At first it looked as if Baker would be the person who would clinch the match after winning the first set 6-2 over Morgan Richard and then taking a 5-1 lead in the second set.
However, Richard rallied back and tied the second set at 5-5 and then won the final two games to win the set, 7-5. As Baker and Richard battled in the third set, Zotov put the finishing touches on his match-clinching win over Kyle Wishing.
Baker was able to build a 5-3 lead in the third set of his match before Richard evened the score at five. The set then went to a tiebreak, where Baker fought off two match points before prevailing, 7-5, to give Vanderbilt a 5-2 win. The win was Baker’s fourth in a row.
Vanderbilt will have a week off from competition before returning to the courts Feb. 22 to face No. 39 Louisville at 12 p.m. at the Currey Tennis Center.
No. 28 Vanderbilt 5, Middle Tennessee State, 2
Records: VU (4-2), MTSU (2-2)
Currey Tennis Center (Indoors)
Nashville, Tenn.
Doubles
1. John Peers/Richard McKenzie (MTSU) def. No. 32 Adam Baker/Alex Zotov (VU), 8-4
2. Bryant Salcedo/Nick Cromydas (VU) def. Victor Melo/Morgan Richard (MTSU), 8-2
3. Alex DiValerio/Charlie Jones (VU) Kyle Wishing/Alex McCann (MTSU), 8-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. Robert McKenzie (MTSU) def. Nick Cromydas (VU), 6-2, 7-5
2. Bryant Salcedo (VU) def. Victor Melo (MTSU), 1-6, 6-2, 2-0, WD (inj.)
3. John Peers (MTSU) def. Vijay Paul (VU), 6-3, 7-5
4. Adam Baker (VU) def. Morgan Richard (MTSU), 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Charlie Jones (VU) def. Alex McCann (MTSU), 6-1, 6-3
6. Alex Zotov (VU) def. Kyle Wishing (MTSU), 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 1, 6, 4
