On the heels of a busy fall season, Vanderbilt opened its spring season with wins over East Tennessee State and Tennessee State in a Wednesday doubleheader. Head coach Scott Brown and the Commodores started the day with a 6-0 victory over the ETSU Buccaneers at noon before downing the TSU Tigers 6-1 in an evening match to start their season 2-0.
Vanderbilt came out strong to start the afternoon, claiming the doubles point with two convincing performances. On Court 2, the freshman and fifth-year partnership of Danil Panarin and Joubert Klopper emerged with a 6-3 victory to begin the afternoon, and were shortly followed up by Jeremie Casabon and Nathan Cox winning 6-4 on Court 1.
With the doubles point ensured, Vanderbilt continued to roll against the Buccaneers, winning all five singles matches to secure a dominant victory. The Commodores were again led by Klopper and Panarin, who earned 6-0, 6-2 and 6-1, 6-0 victories, respectively. In the other singles matches, Cox, Casabon and fifth-year Juan Lopez all earned their first singles victories of the season.
In Vanderbilt’s second match against TSU, the Commodores were able to follow much of the same script in another comfortable victory. Once again, the duos of Panarin and Klopper and Casabon and Cox were able to secure the doubles point for Vanderbilt, winning 6-4 and 6-1, respectively. Junior Michael Ross and Lopez competed in the third doubles match of the event, but had their game discontinued at 5-3 after the Commodores won the doubles point with performances on the other courts.
On the singles courts, Panarin and Lopez both came out on top in straight sets, marking a perfect day for both players. Ross, Casabon and fifth-year Alexandre Hillhouse also won their respective matches, with each needing a decisive third set to claim their victories. Vanderbilt’s only loss of the day came from Cox, who narrowly lost to TSU’s Taj Hibbert, 7-5, 6-4.
After two strong performances to start the season, Vanderbilt will host Tennessee Tech and Alabama A&M for another doubleheader on Jan. 21. The Commodores will then travel to Columbus, Ohio for ITA Kickoff Weekend beginning Jan. 28.
