April 28, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 24 Vanderbilt Commodores travel north to the Buckeye State to compete in the 2015 NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Columbus regional. 11th seeded Ohio State will play host to first and second round NCAA tournament action, beginning May 8th. Joining the `Dores in tournament contention is No. 35 Notre Dame and fourth seeded Buffalo.
“We have our work cut out for us,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “It’s a tough regional with a strong Notre Dame team in the first round to play Ohio State who had won over a hundred consecutive home matches until they lost to Oklahoma earlier this year. Which all sets up for a very special opportunity for us – it would make a special memory for our team to go there and win the regional wouldn’t it?”
With the field of 64 set, the Commodores are slated to compete in their 14th tournament, and seventh under Duvenhage in his 10 seasons with the black and gold.
Vandy comes off one of it’s most successful seasons as far as conference play goes, compiling an 8-4 record against SEC teams. Just last week the Commodores received several conference nods, with senior Gonzales Austin earning the SEC Player of the Year award and First Team All-SEC. Daniel Valent, a freshman from Zurich, Switzerland also received honors, as he was named to both the SEC All-Freshman team and Second Team All-SEC.
Vanderbilt begins its tournament journey facing the No. 35 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Friday May 8th at 9:00 am CT . The Irish boast a 14-11 record and come into NCAAs after a quick stent in the ACC tournament, falling 4-0 to Georgia Teach in the first round.
Following the Vanderbilt/Notre Dame match, Ohio State and Buffalo will square off at 12:00 pm. Friday’s winners will meet in the second round action on Saturday at 11:00 am CT.
