The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team finished off its fall season at the Georgia Tech invitational this weekend, sporting a combined 7-2 record in doubles and a 9-12 record in singles.
The field was very strong and included players from SEC rival teams Georgia and Ole Miss, as well as players from the University of Miami, Yale, Middle Tennessee State and the hosting Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Of the aforementioned teams, five finished in the top 50 of the ITA rankings to end the 2022 season.
Day 1 saw the Commodores go 2-1 in doubles action and 4-3 in singles action, with upperclassmen Jeremie Casabon, Marcus Ferreira and Siim Troost going undefeated on the day. Alongside freshman Mitchell Deames, Ferreira finished the weekend with a 3-0 record on the doubles court. Troost, on the other hand, maintained a perfect record through the invitational in singles play, dropping just one set all weekend. Troost and Casabon also teamed up to go 2-1 in doubles play. Fellow Commodore Michael Ross and Troost are the 38th ranked preseason doubles team approaching the spring season.
The Commodores continued this success on the doubles court on Day 2, going 3-0 on the day. Freshman Nathan Cox saw his first doubles action of the weekend, taking down #97 Marcus McDaniel from Georgia Tech in a tight three-setter. The blue chip recruit went 3-1 overall with a 2-1 singles record, to finish the fall 9-5, which is the best record on the team. The lefty is a key part of this freshman class that garnered 13 votes to be named a top-25 recruiting class, despite falling short of this honor.
Cox had his hands full with No. 20 Andres Martin from Georgia Tech on the final day of play, dropping a three-set battle. Fellow freshman Paul Wang secured his first win of the tournament on the final day, teaming up with No. 59 Joubert Kloupper to take down Shu Matsouka and Marcel Kamrowski from cross-state rivals Middle Tennessee State. Kloupper then cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Georgia Tech’s Elias Shokry, capping off a 2-1 weekend in singles and 4-2 weekend overall. The senior from South Africa is the highest ranked Commodore on the preseason ITA rankings and is hoping to finish his college career strong after battling with elbow and arm injuries for most of his first two years in Nashville.
Overall, this weekend was a successful one for the ‘Dores on the court, with freshmen gaining invaluable experience and the team dominating on the doubles court even without top contributor Michael Ross. This team will look to keep up its doubles success heading into the spring season.
