TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The 34th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team earned a narrow 4-3 victory over No. 44 Alabama in the squad’s Southeastern Conference opener Friday evening.
Vanderbilt opened the road match taking the doubles point for the sixth-consecutive match, as the Dores earned a pair of 6-2 wins on courts one and three. Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe downed No. 34 Edson Ortiz and Mazen Osama, while Daniel Valent and George Harwell defeated Patrick Kaukovalta and Riccardo Roberto.
Rowe/Klinger’s ranked win on court one was the duo’s fifth-straight victory this season. Harwell/Valent improved their record to 5-2 on the year, playing primarily at No. 3 doubles.
With the point advantage under their belt, the Commodores carried momentum into singles picking up first sets on all six courts.
Baker Newman was first off the court for the black and gold, earning a solid straight set win over Kaukovalta on court three. The senior Commodore limited his opponent to three games in his 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Billy Rowe pulled off a tight 6-4, 6-4 victory over Zhe Zhou on court five. The Coronado, Calif. native earned his seventh win of the season to give the Commodores their third team point of the match.
Up 3-0, Vandy had chances to close out Friday’s match on courts one and two, but the Crimson Tide, however, came out on top of both second set tiebreakers over Klinger and Valent to take all four remaining matches to third sets.
Alabama earned its first two points of the outing with back-to-back wins over Commodore freshmen. On court six, George Harwell took his first loss on the season, suffering a 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 loss to Alexey Nesterov. Minutes later, Maxwell Freeman dropped a three set loss of his own, falling 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 on court five to Edson Ortiz.
The Crimson Tide chipped away at the Commodore lead once more, as Mazen Osama completed the comeback victory on court one over No. 50 Klinger. The 113th-ranked player earned the upset win over Klinger, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.
VU’s search for the final team point came to an end on court two as No. 52 Valent held on to an early lead in his third set for the Commodore victory. Up 4-0 in the third set, Valent allowed his opponent, Thibault Cancel, just two games before closing out the victory, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2.
Vanderbilt returns home on Sunday, facing another ranked opponent in the No. 22 Tulane Green Wave. The first 100 fans at Sunday’s 9 a.m. CT match will receive a Vanderbilt “Star V” coaster.
