NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt men’s tennis generated an early lead and never looked back, sinking Tennessee 4-2 for its first win in the rivalry matchup since 2018.
“One thing we talked about after the Mississippi State match was our mindset,” head coach Scott Brown said. “We left thinking everyone else is going to find out what the Commodores are made of; the SEC is going to find out how tough we are and Tennessee is going to find out how tough we are. And I think that mindset showed today.”
The Commodores again snatched the doubles point to open the match. After losing at the No. 3 position, Vanderbilt (9-3, 1-1 SEC) reversed the momentum with wins at their No. 2 and No. 1 spots. Senior Nathan Cox remained unstoppable for the black and gold, improving his dual match singles record to 11-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jan Kobierski. Tennessee (6-6, 0-2 SEC) picked up its first point of the match at No. 3 singles, but sophomore Pablo Martinez Gomez responded immediately at Court 2, downing Dragos Cazacu 6-2, 6-2.
Tennessee again threatened moments after, notching its second singles victory behind Boruch Skierkier’s 6-3, 6-4 defeat of freshman Jack Satterfield. Needing one point with two courts left, it was freshman Hoyoung Roh who stepped up to seal it for the Dores. Hoyoung rebounded from a 6-2 first set defeat to No. 58 Alejandro Moreno with a 6-2 frame of his own in the second. The two battled point-for-point in the third set, staying even up to 4-4. Hoyoung converted each of his serving points in the ninth game, finishing it off with an ace to gain a 5-4 advantage. With the match in the balance, the freshman produced the first break point of the set to clinch the match win for the Commodores.
“We knew this would be a culture match and a character match,” Brown said. “I am really proud of the guys. We didn’t play anywhere near our best, but we were just a little bit tougher than Tennessee in the big moments, and that’s what decided the match. Today was not a pretty match; it was gritty, and that’s how these matches are. In a lot of these contests, it doesn’t come down to tennis, it comes down to how you handle the moment.”
The victory ends a six match skid for Vanderbilt against Tennessee. Across the last 21 years, the winning team has gone on to take consecutive matches in the series. It is the first win for the Dores in an SEC home opener since 2023.
“You’re always trying to find ways to motivate your guys,” Brown said. “One of our big motivations coming into this match was getting revenge after losing 4-3 in their place last season, as well as basketball losing to Tennessee on Saturday. We’re a family across Vanderbilt athletics, we take care of each other. So we wanted to take it to Tennessee and have our basketball team’s back.”
Vanderbilt prepares for a four-match road trip beginning with Oklahoma (9-2, 1-1 SEC) on Friday at 4 p.m. For more information, updates and exclusive match day content, follow the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team, @VandyMTennis, on Instagram and X.
No. 37 Vanderbilt 4, No. 68 Tennessee 2
Doubles
1. Cox/Hoyoung [Vanderbilt] def. Jose Garcia/Piotr Siekanowicz [Tennessee] 6-3
2. Martinez Gomez/Panarin [Vanderbilt] def. Ethan Muza/Shion Itsusaki [Tennessee] 6-4
3. Kobierski/Moreno [Tennessee] def. Hugo Coquelin/Satterfield [Vanderbilt] 6-2
Singles
1. Hoyoung [Vanderbilt] def. No. 58 Moreno [Tennessee] 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Martinez Gomez [Vanderbilt] def. Cazacu [Tennessee] 6-2, 6-2
3. Garcia [Tennessee] def. Panarin [Vanderbilt] 6-1, 6-2
4. Cox [Vanderbilt] def. Kobierski [Tennessee] 6-2, 6-1
5. Skierkier [Tennessee] def. Satterfield [Vanderbilt] 6-3, 6-4
6. Coquelin [Vanderbilt] vs. Itsusaki [Tennessee] 5-4, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,3,2,5,1)
