NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 33 Vanderbilt ran its win streak to four after defeating the 30th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers, 5-2, and the Belmont Bruins, 4-0, Sunday afternoon at the Currey Tennis Center.
With the two wins on the day, Vanderbilt is now 9-3 on the season. The loss for Indiana (6-6) snapped a five-match win streak, while Belmont dropped to 1-4 with the loss. Vanderbilt is now 3-0 this season versus teams from the Big 10 Conference.
Indiana struck early by winning the doubles point on courts one and three. Ryan Lipman and Marc van der Merwe were defeated by Sam Monette and Isade Juneau, 8-5. Dimitrije Tasic and Chris Essick then clinched the point with a win over Jeff Offerdahl and Anton Kovrigin, 8-5.
Lipman was able to bounce back in singles to win at the No. 1 position in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. The win for the redshirt junior tied the match, 1-1. Just minutes later, van der Merwe picked up his ninth win of the season after defeating Tasic, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.
Kris Yee recorded his ninth-straight win with his victory over Daniel Bednarczyk. After dropping a tough first set, 7-6(1), Yee was able to bounce back to dominate the second and third sets, 6-0, 6-3.
In the No. 3 position, Josh MacTaggart defeated Offerdahl, 6-7(3), 6-0, 6-2, to bring the score to 3-2. Hanging onto a slight 3-2 lead, Gonzales Austin came through with a hard-fought three-set win over Monette, 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-5, to clinch the win for Vanderbilt. After missing the last two matches due to illness, Austin was able to return to the court and help deliver a huge win for the Commodores.
Looking to pull the Sunday sweep, Vanderbilt faced off with Belmont in the second match of the doubleheader. The Commodores won the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead into singles. Offerdahl and Johnson made quick work at No. 3 over Navarro Veys and Bruno Silva, 8-2, while Austin and Suresh Eswaran defeated Henrique Norbiato and Fernando Mussolini, 8-4.
In singles action, the Commodores received wins at Nos. 1, 4 and 5 to clinch the match, 4-0. Austin won a tough first set over Renato Antun, 7-5, before breezing through the second set, 6-1. Johnson (vs. Veys) and Yee (vs. Silva) each overpowered their opponents en route to wins, 6-0, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-2, respectively.
Vanderbilt hosts No. 24 LSU (March 1) and No. 52 Arkansas (March 3) to kick off SEC play next weekend at the Currey Tennis Center. The match versus LSU begins at 2 p.m., while the Arkansas match begins at 12 p.m.
Indiana Singles Results
1. No. 22 Ryan Lipman (Vanderbilt) def. Isade Juneau (Indiana) 6-3, 6-4
2. No. 33 Gonzales Austin (Vanderbilt) def. Sam Monette (Indiana) 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-5
3. Josh MacTaggart (Indiana) def. Jeff Offerdahl (Vanderbilt) 6-7(3), 6-0, 6-2
4. Marc van der Merwe (Vanderbilt) def. Dimitrije Tasic (Indiana) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
5. Kris Yee (Vanderbilt) def. Daniel Bednarczyk (Indiana) 6-7(1), 6-0, 6-3
6. Anton Kovrigin (Vanderbilt) vs. Chris Essick (Indiana) 6-4, 4-3
Indiana Doubles Results
1. Monette/Juneau (Indiana) def. Lipman/van der Merwe (Vanderbilt) 8-5
2. Austin/Eswaran (Vanderbilt) vs. MacTaggart/Bednarczyk (Indiana) 6-6, unfinished
3. Tasic/Essick (Indiana) def. Offerdahl/Kovrigin (Vanderbilt) 8-5
Order of Finish
Singles: 1,4,5,3,2,6
Doubles: 3,1
Belmont Singles Results
1. No. 33 Gonzales Austin (Vanderbilt) def. Renato Antun (Belmont) 7-5, 6-1
2. Jeff Offerdahl (Vanderbilt) vs. Henrique Norbiato (Belmont) 4-6, 0-1, unfinished
3. Marc van der Merwe (Vanderbilt) vs. Fernando Mussolini (Belmont) 6-4, 1-1, unfinished
4. Rhys Johnson (Vanderbilt) def. Navarro Veys (Belmont) 6-0, 6-0
5. Kris Yee (Vanderbilt) def. Bruno Silva (Belmont) 6-0, 6-2
6. Anton Kovrigin (Vanderbilt) vs. Henrik Claesson (Belmont) 2-1, unfinished
Belmont Doubles Results
1. Lipman/van der Merwe (Vanderbilt) vs. Antun/Claesson (Belmont) 6-5, unfinished
2. Austin/Eswaran (Vanderbilt) def. Norbiato/Mussolini (Belmont) 8-4
3. Johnson/Offerdahl (Vanderbilt) def. Veys/Silva (Belmont) 8-2
Order of Finish
Singles: 4,5,1
Doubles: 3,2
