NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Men’s tennis travels to Alabama this weekend for a pair of SEC matches. The Dores will face No. 52 Alabama on Friday at 4 p.m. and No. 15 Auburn on Sunday at noon.
Crimson Tide
The weekend begins in Tuscaloosa with the Dores facing Alabama, which sits 9-11 overall and 1-6 in conference play. At No. 52 in the country, the Tide includes a pair of ranked singles players: No. 82 Enzo Aguiard and No. 88 Filip Planinsek.
Last year’s matchups between the Commodores and the Crimson Tide saw Vandy win 4-3 at home in the regular season but fall 4-3 in the first round of the conference tournament. The last time Vanderbilt was victorious in Tuscaloosa was in 2018, when the Dores beat No. 44 Alabama 4-3.
Alabama hosts the Dores after a weekend of travel and close matches. The Tide fell 4-3 to No. 29 Texas A&M in College Station last Thursday and lost 4-3 to No. 51 LSU in Baton Rouge on Sunday.
War Eagle
On Sunday, Vanderbilt travels to Auburn to face the No. 15 Tiger squad. Sitting with a 14-7 overall record and 3-4 in the SEC, Auburn’s team includes two ranked singles players (No. 107 Alejandro Moreno and No. 110 Tyler Stice) as well as two ranked doubles pairs (No. 23 Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett and No. 65 Jan Galka/Moreno).
Vanderbilt hosted No. 39 Auburn last season and came up short, 4-1. Last time Vandy won in Auburn was in 2020, when the Dores picked up a 4-1 victory.
Auburn welcomes Vanderbilt after splitting away matches last weekend. The Tigers impressively beat No. 4 South Carolina in Columbia on Friday by a score of 4-3. They then traveled to Gainesville where they fell 6-1 to No. 22 Florida on Sunday.
Anchor Down
The Commodores look to bounce back in Alabama after falling short against No. 12 Mississippi State and No. 33 Ole Miss last weekend. On Friday, the Dores claimed the doubles point with No. 35 Jeremie Casabon/Siim Troost topping their Mississippi State opponent, followed by Nathan Cox/Michael Ross forcing the tiebreak set to win their court 7-6. Vandy fell short in singles play, however, with Macsen Sisam the only Commodore to win his court.
On Sunday, the Dores found themselves on the losing side of a tiebreak set in doubles play, falling behind 1-0 to Ole Miss. Vanderbilt tied up the score, though, with Troost winning quick straight sets. In four of the remaining five singles matches, the Commodores forced third sets against their Ole Miss opponents but ultimately fell short.
On Deck: The Dores return home next Friday to host Texas A&M at 4 p.m. The match is Senior Day, as well as a celebration of head coach Ian Duvenhage’s career and retirement.
