NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The 26th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team couldn’t put together a late match rally and fell 4-1 to No. 45 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Friday evening.
Vanderbilt (12-7, 3-5 SEC) dropped the doubles point to the Crimson Tide, falling at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. The `Dores picked up the first win in doubles as fourth-ranked Gonzales Austin and Ryan Lipman picked up their 22nd win of the season. Rhys Johnson and Anton Kovrigin fell at No. 2 to bring the point down to the match at No. 3 doubles.
The young Vandy duo of freshmen Ryan Smith and Pen Binet were trailing 3-6 before winning the next four games to go up 7-6. In the 14th game Alabama held serve to force a tiebreak. In the breaker Bama would take over and clinch the point, winning 7-3.
In singles Vandy won four first sets, but Alabama was able to battle back, splitting on three of those four courts.
The lone point of the day for the Commodores came at the No. 3 position, as Kris Yee picked up the 6-3, 6-3 win over Stuart Kenyon.
For the first time this season Vanderbilt’s top two players, Austin and Lipman, were handed losses in the same match.
Austin fell 7-5, 6-3 to No. 28 Daniil Proskura at No. 1, while Lipman fell 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to No. 105 O’Shaughnessey at No. 2.
The Crimson Tide clinched the match with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 4 over Rhys Johnson.
The Commodores will take to the courts again on Sunday against Auburn. The match is set for 1 p.m.
#45 Alabama 4, #26 Vanderbilt 1
Singles competition
1. #28 Daniil Proskura (UA) def. #17 Gonzales Austin (VU) 7-5, 6-3
2. #105 B. O’Shaughnessey (UA) def. #57 Ryan Lipman (VU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Kris Yee (VU) def. Stuart Kenyon (UA) 6-3, 6-3
4. Nikko Madregallejo (UA) def. Rhys Johnson (VU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Hayes Brewer (UA) vs. Anton Kovrigin (VU) 5-7, 6-4, 1-5, unfinished
6. Andrew Goodwin (UA) vs. Jeffrey Offerdahl (VU) 6-3, 4-6, 4-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #4 Gonzales Austin/Ryan Lipman (VU) def. #38 B. O’Shaughnessey/Daniil Proskura (UA) 8-3
2. Sean Donohue/Stuart Kenyon (UA) def. Rhys Johnson/Anton Kovrigin (VU) 8-4
3. Hayes Brewer/Andrew Goodwin (UA) def. Ryan Smith/Pen Binet (VU) 8-7 (7-3)
Match Notes:
Vanderbilt 12-7, 3-5 SEC
Alabama 10-11, 3-5 SEC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,1,2,4)
T-3:35 A-167
