Following eight straight SEC losses, the Commodores finally came through with a win over Alabama (11-5, 3-10 SEC) at Vanderbilt’s Lummis Family Tennis Center on April 10. Head coach Scott Brown looked to capitalize on a middling Alabama program that won just three of its conference battles this season.
The Black and Gold ended their season with 16 wins and 11 losses, but a record of just 5-9 against SEC programs. With the SEC Tournament up next, this Senior Day win was instrumental in providing momentum and confidence to a team that suffered defeat in four of its previous five contests.
The Crimson Tide were off to a hot start in doubles, with Rohan Hazratwala and Matic Kriznik securing a 7-5 victory over Pablo Martinez Gomez and Callum Markowitz at the No. 2 position. Vanderbilt’s No. 14-nationally ranked pair of Nathan Cox and Hoyoung Roh answered back, earning a narrow 7-6(5) upset win over Alabama’s No. 8 duo of Vit Kalina and Andrii Zimnokh.
The doubles point came down to the No. 3 position, where the newly paired Jack Satterfield and Danil Panarin faced off against Brendan Loh and Carlos Gimenez Perez. Satterfield and Panarin bested the Crimson Tide tandem 7-5 to clinch the doubles point for the ’Dores.
That momentum carried over to singles, as Cox quickly locked down his second win of the night with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph over Rohan Hazratwala. No. 98 Roh notched a 6-1, 6-1 victory of his own, defeating No. 82 Kriznik. Up 3-0, Vanderbilt needed just one of the four remaining singles matches to go its way.
The Black and Gold secured that final point through Satterfield, who captured a 6-1, 6-4 win over Hazratwala. The freshman’s victory completed the sweep for the Commodores, leaving Gomez, Panarin and Donghyun Hwang’s matches unfinished.
“I’m really, really proud of the guys today,” Brown said after the match. “And not necessarily because we won, but because today, they showed what happens when you keep working and keep showing up. We’ve taken a number of losses on the chin the last few weeks in the SEC, but credit to these guys; they keep working, they keep the faith and they stay the course. At some point you will get rewarded when you stick with the process like they have, and today that happened for them.”
Brown discussed the impact of the crowd, highlighting Vanderbilt’s special atmosphere on Senior Day.
“There’s no better way to get back in the win column than on senior day, especially in front of an incredible crowd,” Brown said. “I want to extend a huge thank you to all the Vandy fans that turned out today – it was really special. It’s a pretty amazing atmosphere here that not too many places in the country can offer.”
As the Commodores turn to the SEC tournament, Brown believes that the Black and Gold are capable of making a deep run.
“I’m just really proud of the guys,” Brown said. “And now we turn our full focus to taking the rest of the weekend and recovering as we start getting prepared for the SEC Tournament next week. Anything can happen, and we’re ready to take it to our opponents and surprise a few people down there.”
Vanderbilt will next travel to College Station, Texas, for the SEC Tournament, with the opening round set to begin April 15.
