Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Blue Raiders fall at Vanderbilt
2/1/2013 4:05:00 PM | Men's Tennis
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - No. 42 Middle Tennessee lost 5-1 to No. 44 Vanderbilt at the Currey Tennis Center on Friday afternoon.
The Blue Raiders fall to 3-2 while Vanderbilt improves to 3-2.
Ryan Lipman and Rhys Johnson defeated MT's Yannick Born and Marlon Brand 8-4 in No. 1 doubles, while Austin Gonzales and Marc van der Merwe picked up a victory over Christoph Lang and Victor Cornea, 8-6.
In No. 3 doubles, MT's Ben Davis and David Fox teamed up for their first doubles victory of the season, defeating VU's Jeff Offerdahl and Suresh Eswaran, 8-7, in the third match of the day.
With MT trailing 1-0 headed into singles play, MT's Ben Davis took on his third top 50 ITA opponent in the past week as he faced No. 20 ranked Gonzales in Flight 1 singles. Davis, ranked 101st, was defeated 6-2, 6-3.
Cornea played Flight 2 singles for the first time this season, taking on 17th-ranked Lipman. Cornea lost 6-3, 6-1.
Lang picked up MT's first victory of the day. He defeated Johnson 6-4, 6-3 in the third flight of singles.
MT's Born squared off against VU's Offerdahl in the fourth singles match of the day, losing 6-4, 6-3.
Facing van der Merwe in Flight 5 singles, Ettore Zito lost the first set 4-6, but battled throughout the second, eventually reaching a 6-6 tie. VU's van der Merwe won the match in a 10-8 tie-breaker.
The final match of the day pitted MT's Fox versus VU's Kris Yee (Ranked 114th). The match was left unfinished, but Yee won the first set, 6-3.
Middle Tennessee is back in action tomorrow as it takes on Tulane at 2 p.m. at Nashboro Village. Live stats are available here.
#44 Vanderbilt 5, #42 Middle Tennessee 1
Feb 1, 2013 at Nashville, Tenn.
Singles competition
1. #20 Gonzales Austin (VU) def. #101 Ben Davis (MT) 6-2, 6-3
2. #17 Ryan Lipman (VU) def. Victor Cornea (MT) 6-3, 6-1
3. Christoph Lang (MT) def. Rhys Johnson (VU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Jeff Offerdahl (VU) def. Yannick Born (MT) 6-4, 6-3
5. Marc van der Merwe (VU) def. Ettore Zito (MT) 6-4, 7-6 (10-8)
6. #114 Kris Yee (VU) vs. David Fox (MT) 6-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Ryan Lipman/Rhys Johnson (VU) def. Yannick Born/Marlon Brand (MT) 8-4
2. Gonzales Austin/Marc van der Merwe (VU) def. Christoph Lang/Victor Cornea (MT) 8-6
3. Ben Davis/David Fox (MT) def. Jeff Offerdahl/Suresh Eswaran (VU) 8-7 (7-5)
Match Notes
Middle Tennessee 3-2; National ranking #42
Vanderbilt 3-2; National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,4,3,1,5)
Official: Carole Cox T-3:29
Players Mentioned
