COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 13 Vanderbilt had a rough outing Friday evening, as the Commodores fell 4-0 to No. 22 South Carolina at the Carolina Tennis Center.
Vanderbilt dropped to 15-8 overall this season and 6-5 in SEC play, while the win boosted South Carolina to 16-9 for the year and 6-5 in conference action as well.
For the third-straight match, the Commodores used a different doubles lineup, but again couldn’t come away with the doubles point. South Carolina won matches at Nos. 2 and 3 to take a 1-0 lead.
In No. 2 doubles, Harry Menzies and Kyle Koch defeated Rhys Johnson and Marc van der Merwe, 8-6. Andrew Adams and Thiago Pinheiro shut out Suresh Eswaran and Jeff Offerdahl in the No. 3 position, 8-0.
The match didn’t get much better for the Commodores in singles play, as the Gamecocks clinched the match with wins at the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 positions.
Tsvetan Mihov took down Ryan Lipman in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2, in the top singles position. Lipman suffered just his fourth defeat in dual play this season (18-4).
At the No. 2 spot, (Andrew) Adams defeated Gonzales Austin, 6-1, 6-2, snapping Austin’s three-match win streak over ranked opponents.
To clinch the win for South Carolina, Pinheiro defeated Offerdahl in the No. 3 position, 6-3, 6-1.
Vanderbilt will travel to No. 17 Florida on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT in the final regular season match of the season.
Singles Results
1. No. 67 Tsvetan Mihov (USC) def. No. 10 Ryan Lipman (VU) 6-0, 6-2
2. No. 102 Andrew Adams (USC) def. No. 46 Gonzales Austin (VU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Thiago Pinheiro (USC) def. Jeff Offerdahl (VU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Kyle Koch (USC) vs. Marc van der Merwe (VU) 7-6(6), 0-2, unfinished
5. Chip Cox, (USC) vs. Kris Yee (VU) 6-2, 3-3, unfinished
6. Harry Menzies (USC) vs. Rhys Johnson (VU) 2-6, 3-4, unfinished
Doubles Results
1. No. 18 Mihov/Cox (USC) vs. Austin/Lipman (VU) 6-7, unfinished
2. No. 84 Menzies/Koch (USC) def. Johnson/van der Merwe (VU) 8-6
3. Adams/Pinheiro (USC) def. Eswaran/Offerdahl (VU) 8-0
Order of finish
Singles: 1,2,3
Doubles: 3,2
