NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 14 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team defeated the No. 11 Florida Gators in an SEC home opening battle on Friday afternoon inside the Currey Tennis Center. The `Dores defeated the Gators 4-3 in front of a roaring Commodore crowd, improving their overall record to 11-3, and 2-1 in SEC play.
“I thought we did a great job,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “There were not many things that I didn’t like about the match. You know sometimes we play these matches where you’re not sure what the outcome is going to be, but you’re happy and proud of how your team is competing and playing, so it was a really good match for us. There are so many good things about it, so I’m proud and happy for them, but I told them to feel good about it for a couple of hours, but let’s get ready for Auburn on Sunday.”
The Commodores began the match with a loss as Pen Binet and Baker Newman fell to Maxx Lipman and Elliot Orkin in a 6-1 decision. But VU brought home the doubles point as courts one and three came out victorious.
Doubles was tied as the No. 1 team in the Nation, Rhys Johnson and Gonzales Austin, delivered a 6-2 defeat over the No. 47 tandem of Gordon Watson and Diego Hidalgo. The duo remins undefeated this spring, boasting a 10-0 record.
Suresh Eswaran and Daniel Valent administered the final blow in doubles on court three, topping UF’s Joshua Wardell/Oliver Landert; 6-4.
With the doubles point advantage, the Commodores began singles with their sights set on three additional wins, a feat which would prove challenging as the Gator’s boasted ranked players in four of its six positions.
Freshman Daniel Valent got off the courts first for the `Dores after defeating No. 90 Orkin in a hard fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 match on court three. With the win the Zurich, Switzerland native improved his dual record to 11-1.
Gonzales Austin recorded his 99th career win as a Commodore in his victory over No. 46 Hidalgo; 7-5, 7-6(6). With the win the senior tied the Vanderbilt singles win record set by Bobby Reynolds during his tenure from ’00-’03.
“I’m really proud to get my 99th win and tie the record with Bobby Reynolds,” said Austin, “I know him personally and he is an unbelievable tennis player. He set that record in three years, and that’s not something that can probably be done again; if somebody does that will be amazing. I’m just happy to hold the record with him for now, hopefully I can break it, but what he accomplished is not really comparable.”
This is not the first record Austin has set, as he and Ryan Lipman set the most doubles wins by a team in a career and season during their 2014 campaign.
“When Ryan and I set our record last year we were really happy because we’re just really close friends. I’m not someone who needs to see their name up on the wall for a long time.” It was just exciting for us to set those records and hopefully they will stand for a long time. But there is so much talent on this team right now that in the future they could break that record.”
With Vandy up at 3-0 the match was looking promising for the Commodores, however the Gators had an agenda of their own as the squad brought in three wins in a row on courts two, three, and four.
With the match now tied at 3-all, VU relied on freshman Baker Newman to steer the Commodores to a victory. Newman came out on fire against Florida’s Joshua Wardell, taking the first set in an easy 6-1 win. But the Gator used the loss as motivation driving the match to a second-set tiebreaker.
But with the support of his team and the Commodore faithful, the Miami, Fla. native earned his second dual season win when it mattered most; breaking serve to take the match for the `Dores 6-1, 7-6(3).
“It was so much fun to be out there today,” said Newman. “After being up 5-4, and going 40-0 I lost like ten points in a row. I was a little nervous, but it was able to keep it together enough to get the win for the team. Today’s match overall was a lot of fun, I had a great time.”
With their second SEC win under their belt, the `Dores look to host doubleheader action on Sunday with the Auburn Tigers at Noon followed by the Ball State Cardinals at 4:30 p.m.
Results:
No. 14 Vanderbilt 4, No. 11 Florida 3
Doubles:
1. No. 1 Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson (VU) def. No. 47 Diego Hidalgo/Gordon Watson (UF); 6-2
2. Elliot Orkin/Maxx Lipman (UF) def. Pen Binet/Baker Newman (VU); 6-1
3. Suresh Eswaran/Daniel Valent (VU) def. Joshua Wardell/Oliver Landert (UF); 6-4
Order of Finish; 2,1,3
Singles:
1. No. 9 Gonzales Austin (VU) def. Diego Hidalgo (UF); 7-5, 7-6(6)
2. No. 103 Maxx Lipman (UF) def. Rhys Johnson (VU); 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(2)
3. Daniel Valent (VU) def. No. 90 Elliot Orkin (UF); 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
4. Gordon Watson (UF) def. Kris Yee (VU); 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
5. No. 123 Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Suresh Eswaran (VU); 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-3
6. Baker Newman (VU) def. Joshua Wardell (UF); 6-1, 7-6(3)
Order of Finish; 3, 1, 5, 4, 2, 6
