TUSCALOOSA, Ala. —The sixth-seeded Vanderbilt men’s tennis team opened up Southeastern Conference Tournament play Thursday morning with a bang, downing the 11th-seeeded LSU Tigers with a 4-0 sweep.
With the victory, the 19th-ranked Commodores advance to SEC quarterfinals and take on third-seeded Florida on Friday at noon.
“I talked to our team ahead of time and gave it some time to percolate,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “I asked them on Sunday, `What are we going to SECs for? Are we going to win a round or two and come home, or win the tournament?’ I reminded them that they’re the same team that was a point away from beating No. 1 Wake Forest and in a close match against Florida the last time we played them.
“So our team is fired up. We’ve been talking about the importance of getting locked in for a match psychologically. My sense is that they’re excited to play Florida and that it will be a pretty good match.”
Two student-athletes made their SEC Tournament debuts against LSU, with both freshmen earning wins. Vanderbilt opened Thursday’s match taking the one-point advantage with two doubles victories on courts three then one.
Freshman George Harwell and senior Baker Newman were first off the court, garnering a swift 6-1 victory on court three over the Tigers’ Shane Monroe and Stewart Block. The victory broke a three-match skid for Harwell, whose previous doubles win was a 6-2 victory over Monroe/Block during the regular season.
Tied 3-all on court one, No. 12 Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe took three games in a row over LSU’s Rafael Wagner and Agie Moreno to clinch the doubles point with a 6-3 victory. Lachlan McPhee and Maxwell Freeman were down a game, 4-5, at the clinch.
The Commodores continued to play confident tennis heading into singles as the squad took five-of-six first sets. All three of VU’s remaining points came in straight-set victories.
Freeman earned the Dores the 2-0 lead in his tourney debut. The Ashland, Mass. native cruised through his match against Moreno on court five. Freeman only allowed his opponent one game per set, walking away with a 6-1, 6-1 win.
No. 122 Newman extended the Vandy advantage, earning a 6-0, 6-4 victory over LSU’s Nikola Samardzic on court three.
Ranked 28th in the country, senior Daniel Valent tied the Vanderbilt all-time career singles record set by AJ Austin with 107 career victories. Taking court one against LSU’s No. 72 Monroe, Valent’s career victory came in a straight-set win on court one, 6-0, 6-4.
“Danny deserves this accomplishment,” Duvenhage said. “It’s a monumental accomplishment because we’ve had some really good players at Vanderbilt. I’m happy for him… Danny works so hard, and he’s earned it. He did a good job today to tie the record, he played a great first set and closed it out when the second set got tough.”
Taking the final two points in 6-4 second sets proved key to the Dores, as the remaining three courts were in tight battles. Valent will look to cement his place in VU history atop the record books on Friday versus Florida.
“It’s kind of a full-circle moment,” said Valent. “From the first day I met AJ my freshmen year, I had great respect for him. Not only was he an amazing athlete and competitor, but he was also a great human being. It feels good and gives me confidence to have matched one of his accomplishments and to represent Vanderbilt.”
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