This past weekend, the Vanderbilt Commodores Men’s Tennis team competed in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn. Seven Commodores entered the singles draw, with three additional duos playing doubles. The pair of Jeremie Casabon and Nathan Cox, who entered as the event’s No. 2 seed, won the doubles title.
“[Casabon and Cox] made a change with their tactics and identity on the doubles court, and they’ve really worked hard on that in the past three to four weeks,” head coach Scott Brown told the Hustler. “And so it’s good to have all that work…be validated a little bit with the result. I’m really proud of their performance and the energy they’ve put in on the doubles court.”
Vanderbilt finished the first round of the tournament in good form, recording six singles wins and two doubles victories, all of which were in straight sets. Casabon had an impressive showing, winning his first round matchup against Ethan Carr of Chattanooga without losing a game. Only sophomore Paul Wang was eliminated in singles in the first round for Vanderbilt, falling in three sets. Joubert Klopper and Mitchell Deames lost Vanderbilt’s lone doubles match to a pair from Memphis.
On Friday, the Commodores remained hot and recorded five singles wins as well as a doubles victory. The second round matchups proved to be more challenging, with both Casabon and Cox needing three sets to win their singles matchups. Casabon defeated Murilo Burckhardt of Tennessee Tech, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, while Cox faced Alex Alvarez of Tennessee Tech, winning the first set and third sets without dropping a game, 6-0, 4-6, 6-0.
Cox continued in the third round, facing Charlelie Cosnet of Kentucky, dropping the first set but finishing strong to claim a victory, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Casabon also won his third round matchup, defeating Pascal Mosberger of Xavier, 6-2, 6-0 to reach the round of 16 at the Regionals, his third straight year doing so. The veteran Klopper, now in his fifth year, also won his second round matchup with an impressive 6-1, 6-1 victory over Deacon Thomas of Indiana, before falling to No. 35 Pablo Alemany of Memphis, 6-3, 6-1. The Casabon/Cox pair also continued their doubles run against Taramonlis/Thomas of Middle Tennessee, winning 8-3.
On Saturday, the round of 16 brought plenty of competition for Vanderbilt. Cox picked up another marathon win over Conor Gannon of Memphis, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, marking his sixth win in the tournament, including both singles and doubles. Casabon’s singles run ended, losing to Leo Raquin of Middle Tennessee State, 6-1, 6-2. However, Cox and Casabon combined to defeat a strong East Tennessee State team (Badra/Lamas) in a tiebreak, 8-7 (3). This run continued in the quarterfinals, with the pair besting Landau/Tiraspolsky of Indiana, 8-4.
Cox’s run in singles ended in the quarterfinals with a loss to Pau Fanlo of Memphis, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. But the pair kept the Commodores’ tournament life alive with a win in the doubles semifinals against Ball State (Lancaster/Tran), 7-5, 6-1.
On Monday, Casabon and Cox claimed the doubles title over Pablo Alemany and Charlie Barry of Memphis with an impressive 6-2, 6-4 victory. In addition to the win, the No. 40-ranked doubles pair qualified for the ITA National Fall Championship, which will be held from Nov. 1-5 in San Diego.
A few weeks into his first season as head coach, Brown reflected on what he’s learned so far about the team.
“These guys are all blue-collar. They’re hard workers,” Brown said. “They’re willing to do whatever it takes, so they bring that kind of eagerness…They’ve really been working hard with their fitness, and we’re really starting to see those improvements and that physical aspect.”
Vanderbilt will next hold the Black & Gold Invitational from Oct. 27-29 at the Currey Tennis Center. The Commodores will host MTSU, Memphis, Illinois, Georgia Tech and Belmont at the event.
“It’s going to be some great tennis for anyone in the Vanderbilt community or in the Nashville community to come out and watch,” Brown said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
