Hoping to institute a full culture reset after last year’s 10-18 record, new head coach Scott Brown brought the Commodores down to Charlottesville, Va., for the Orange and Blue classic. As the former assistant coach of the two-time defending champion Virginia Cavalier team, Brown was surely hoping that his team would put up a fight against its superior opponents. Vanderbilt did just that.
On Friday, Vanderbilt took on Virginia in seven singles matches and three doubles matches. The headlining performance for Vanderbilt was from fifth-year senior Joubert Klopper, who won both his singles and doubles matches. He defeated Mans Dahlberg in two sets before teaming up with Connor Robb-Wilcox to take down the Cavalier duo of Douglas Yaffa and Mans Dahlberg. While those were the only victories of the day for the Black and Gold, Michael Ross took his opponent Dylan Dietrich, the second ranked freshman in the country, to a third-set tiebreak. Overall, it was a very successful learning day for the Commodores, as they showed that they could put up a fight against the best team in the country.
On Saturday, Vanderbilt took on Virginia Tech in a much more even matchup. Of the nine total matches, Vanderbilt took four of them. Jeremie Casabon highlighted the day, winning his singles match against Alex Ix in two sets and teaming up with Nathan Cox to dominate the Hokie duo of St. Hillaire and Maia. Juan Lopez also secured his first singles victory of the year, while the doubles duo of Klopper and Wang secured another victory. Saturday was yet another step in the right direction for the Commodores.
On Sunday, Vanderbilt battled against Penn in the finale of the weekend. It was a tremendous singles day for the Commodores, with Michael Ross, Cox, Klopper and Casabon all securing straight-set victories. Vanderbilt got swept in its three doubles matches but still ended the weekend on a high note.
After the tournament, Brown commended his team’s grit.
“This team has some real fight and heart in them,” Brown said. He also alluded to the significance of the weekend.
“The culture got a little bit stronger this weekend,” Brown said. “Inch by inch, this team is buying into the process.”
Vanderbilt will return to action at the Southern Intercollegiate (Athens, Ga.) on Sept. 29 and the ITA All-American Championship (Tulsa, Okla.) on Sept. 30.
