NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 21 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team ended dual match play on a high note, defeating the No. 59 Alabama Crimson Tide 4-1 on senior day. The Commodores fell in doubles, but surged back in singles play to take the win.
Boasting an 18-6 dual record, VU heads into postseason as the No. 5 seed in the SEC tournament. Vanderbilt concludes conference play with an 8-4 SEC slate, the best record of any VU team in the 10 seasons that Ian Duvenhage has been at the helm.
Prior to the start of Sunday’s match, the team honored its three seniors Gonzales Austin, Suresh Eswaran, and Jeffrey Offerdahl for their hard work and dedication while playing for the black and gold.
“It was a good weekend,” said head coach Duvenhage. “We got ourselves in a hole again after doubles, but we’ve been so tough in singles all year long. I’m really happy that Kris (Yee) was able to clinch, because he’s had a tough year up till this point. This win today was good for him and will give him something to build off from. I’m really happy for the guys. I told our three seniors that I love them, and if we can go to the conference tournament and do some damage we can still host and they can play at home some more.”
The Commodores continued to struggle in doubles action; ultimately falling 7-6(3) on court two, and 6-1 on court three. Austin and Rhys Johnson, the second ranked team in the nation, broke Alabama twice to tie the match at 5-all and then at 6-all to force the tiebreaker. The Commodore duo improved their dual record to 15-2 with the 7-6(4) victory on court one over No. 28 O’Shaughnessey/Lovett.
For the second match in a row the Commodores had to relay on their stellar singles play if they wanted to send their seniors off with a win.
Rhys Johnson tied the match score at 1-all with a victory on court two over No. 106 Korey Lovett. The two competitors were battling head-to-head the entire first set when Johnson broke serve to take the 5-4 lead. Taking the first set 6-4, the junior from Perth, Australia cruised through his second set 6-2, earning his fourth ranked win this season.
In possibly his last home match, Austin made sure he left court one of the Currey Tennis Center with a win in his pocket. The Miami native took his first 6-2 over the Crimson Tide’s Becker O’Shaughnessey. Austin’s second set was more of a challenge for the senior, but like Johnson he came up clutch breaking serve to take the 5-4 lead. Austin earned his 106th victory on senior day; 6-2, 6-4.
Over on court five another Vanderbilt senior was competing to ensure a senior day victory. Suresh Eswaran came out hot, taking the first three games over Bama’s Kerznerman. The Sacramento, Calif. native came out on top in the first set 6-3. A battle ensued on court five during the second set, as Eswaran was taken to a tiebreaker. Eswaran claimed the third point in a row for the `Dores after taking the tiebreaker 7-6(2).
Kris Yee dominated his first set for the `Dores, hardly allowing Stuart Kenyon a point let alone a game in his perfect 6-0 set. Last season Yee defeated Kenyon 6-3, 6-3, and the success continued one year later as Yee clinched the 4-1 Commodore win by taking the second set in a close 7-5 victory.
Vanderbilt heads back to College Station, Tx. to compete in the SEC tournament. The Commodores’ first match of the competition is this Thursday, April 16th, at 4:00 p.m. VU will play the winner of Friday night’s Arkansas/Auburn match.
Results:
No. 21 Vanderbilt 4, No. 59 Alabama 1
Doubles
1) No. 2 Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson (VU) def. No. 28 Korey Lovett/Becker O’Shaughnessey (UA); 7-6(4)
2) Sean Donohue/Stuart Kenyon (UA) def. No. 75 Pen Binet/Baker Newman (VU); 7-6(3)
3) Sam Edwards/Andrew Goodwin (UA) def. Jeff Offerdahl/Daniel Valent (VU); 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*
Singles
1) No. 9 Gonzales Austin (VU) def. Becker O’Shaughnessey (UA); 6-2, 6-4
2) Rhys Johnson (VU) def. No. 106 Korey Lovett (UA); 6-4, 6-2
3) No. 83 Daniel Valent (VU) vs. Nikko Madregallejo (UA); 3-6, 7-6(5)
4) Kris Yee (VU) def. Stuart Kenyon (UA); 6-0, 7-5
5) Suresh Eswaran (VU) def. Danny Kerznerman (UA); 6-3, 7-6(2)
6) Andrew Goodwin (UA) led Baker Newman (VU); 7-6(5), 2-1
Order of finish; 2, 1, 5, 4*
