NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 44 Vanderbilt won its third-consecutive match on Sunday after taking down Tulane, 6-1, at the Currey Tennis Center.
After dropping two-straight matches to highly ranked opponents (Michigan State and Georgia), the Commodores (4-2) have reeled off wins in their last three duals. With the loss, Tulane dropped to 2-2 on the season.
The Commodores opened the day with wins in No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to take a 1-0 lead into singles. Ryan Lipman and Rhys Johnson had to hold a off the pesky duo from Tulane, Idan Mark and Dominik Koepfer, to win 8-6. This is the second-straight match Lipman and Johnson have paired up in doubles.
Gonzales Austin and Suresh Eswaran also had a tough time in their doubles match, but were able to hang on to win, 8-6, over Rodrigo Rappaccioli and Alex Van Cott. Austin and Eswaran improved to 4-1 when playing together in doubles.
Tulane’s Joe Young and Ian Van Cott defeated Jeff Offerdahl and Marc van der Merwe, 8-4 in the No. 3 spot.
The Green Wave tied the match at 1-1 after a win in No. 3 singles. (Dominik) Koepfer defeated Johnson, 6-3, 6-3. However, the Commodores would immediately go back in front after van der Merwe recorded a win in the No. 5 position. The Stellenbosch, South Africa, native beat Adam Bernstein, 6-1, 6-1.
Lipman would then give Vanderbilt a 3-1 lead with his win in No. 1 singles. The redshirt junior defeated Tulane’s (Idan) Mark, 6-2, 6-1, to improve to 5-1 in dual play this season and 15-5 overall.
Offerdahl secured the win for Vanderbilt in No. 4 singles over Alex Van Cott, 6-4, 6-2. Offerdahl finished off an impressive weekend of singles play with wins over MTSU and Tulane.
To put the finishing touches on the win, Austin took down (Joe) Young, 6-4, 7-5. The win for the 20th-ranked player in the country didn’t come easy, as he received a tough match from Young. Kris Yee then tacked on another point with his win in No. 6 singles. Yee defeated Ian Van Cott, 7-6(8-6), 6-3.
Vanderbilt travels to Chicago to take on Northwestern (Feb. 8) and Harvard (Feb. 10), who are both ranked in the top 35 in the ITA Rankings.
Singles Results
1. No. 17 Ryan Lipman (Vandy) def. Idan Mark (Tulane) 6-2, 6-1
2. No. 20 Gonzales Austin (Vandy) def. Joe Young (Tulane) 6-4, 7-5
3. Dominik Koepfer (Tulane) def. Rhys Johnson (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 6-3
4. Jeff Offerdahl (Vanderbilt) def. Alex Van Cott (Tulane) 6-4, 6-2
5. Marc van der Merwe (Vanderbilt) def. Adam Bernstein (Tulane) 6-1, 6-1
6. No. 114 Kris Yee (Vanderbilt) def. Ian Van Cott (Tulane) 7-6(8-6), 6-3
Doubles Results
1. Lipman/Johnson (Vanderbilt) def. Mark/Koepfer (Tulane) 8-6
2. Austin/Eswaran (Vanderbilt) def. Rappaccioli/A. Van Cott (Tulane) 8-6
3. Young/I. Van Cott (Tulane) def. Offerdahl/van der Merwe (Vanderbilt) 8-4
