NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt battled the weather and a feisty East Tennessee State squad before claiming a 4-0 victory Friday evening at the Currey Tennis Center in the first round of the Men’s Tennis NCAA Tournament.
Vanderbilt (17-10) will play Illinois in the second round Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. With the loss, ETSU finished the season with a record of 13-7. The Commodores recorded their first tournament win since 2010.
The Commodores started the match by winning the doubles point at courts Nos. 1 and 3. Gonzales Austin and Ryan Lipman defeated Jesus Bandres and Rogerio Ribeiro at the No. 1 spot, 8-3. In the No. 3 doubles position, Suresh Eswaran and Jeff Offerdahl breezed to an 8-1 win over Roger Ordeig and Ricardo Pabon.
Rhys Johnson recorded the first singles victory of the match at No. 6. The Perth, Australia, native defeated Ricardo Pabon in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.
Lipman’s win in the No. 1 singles position gave Vanderbilt a 3-0 lead. The redshirt junior defeated Bandres, 6-2, 6-1. With the win, Lipman ran his overall singles record to 29-10 on the season and 19-6 in dual play.
After weather forced the match indoors, (Gonzales) Austin came through with the match-clinching win at the No. 2 position. Despite dropping the first set to Ribeiro, 2-6, Austin came back with a vengeance to win sets two and three, 6-2, 6-0.
The winner of the Nashville Regional will advance to the NCAA Championships in Urbana, Ill., May 17-21, at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex hosted by the University of Illinois.
Singles Results
1. No. 10 Ryan Lipman (VU) def. Jesus Bandres (ETSU) 6-2, 6-1
2. No. 46 Gonzales Austin (VU) def. Rogerio Ribeiro (ETSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
3. Jeff Offerdahl (VU) vs. Juan Ramirez (ETSU) 6-2, 5-7, 2-1, unfinished
4. Kris Yee (VU) vs. Jorge Varon (ETSU) 6-7 (5), 3-4, unfinished
5. Marc van der Merwe (VU) vs. Roger Ordeig (ETSU) 6-3, 6-6, unfinished
6. Rhys Johnson (VU) def. Ricardo Pabon (ETSU) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles Results
1. Austin/Lipman (VU) def. Bandres/Ribeiro (ETSU) 8-3
2. Johnson/van der Merwe (VU) vs. Ramirez/Varon (ETSU) 3-7, unfinished
3. Eswaran/Offerdahl (VU) def. Ordeig/Pabon (ETSU) 8-1
Order of Finish
Singles: 6,1,2
Doubles: 3,1
