University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Vanderbilt
Gophers Edged by No. 23 Vanderbilt
2/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The No. 34 Minnesota men's tennis team saw its five-match winning streak come to an end Friday afternoon as it fell, 4-3, to No. 23 Vanderbilt in a neutral site match at the Beren Tennis Center in Cambridge, Mass. The Gophers dropped to 7-2 overall with the loss.
For the first time all season in its ninth match, Minnesota dropped the doubles point.
The Commodores opened the dual by taking a 6-2 decision in the top doubles flight as second-ranked Gonzales Austin Rhys Johnson defeated No. 52 Jack Hamburg and Mathieu Froment. Leandro Toledo and Felix Corwin leveled the competition with a 6-2 win at No. 2, but Vanderbilt took a 1-0 lead when Daniel Valent and Suresh Eswaran won in a tiebreaker at No. 3.
The match became even at one in singles when Corwin won a quick match at No. 5, dispatching the Commodores' Baker Newman in consecutive sets. Matic Spec gave the Gophers a 2-1 lead with a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 4. The freshman class of Corwin and Spec is now 34-5 record in singles, including a 14-1 mark in the spring.
Johnson re-tied the match with a win at No. 2, but Ruben Weber put the Maroon and Gold back in front with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph in the third spot.
Vanderbilt used a pair of three-set wins to make one final rally to win the match. Eswaran eked out a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over Froment at No. 6 and eighth-ranked Austin topped No. 25 Toledo, 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-1 to finish the match.
Minnesota will finish its weekend with a noon CT match Saturday against No. 25 Harvard.
No. 23 Vanderbilt 4, No. 34 Minnesota 3
Beren Tennis Center (Cambridge, Mass.)
Singles competition
1. No. 8 Gonzales Austin (VANDY) def. No. 25 Leandro Toledo (MINN) 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-1
2. Rhys Johnson (VANDY) def. Jack Hamburg (MINN) 6-4, 6-3
3. Ruben Weber (MINN) def. Kris Yee (VANDY) 6-3, 6-3
4. Matic Spec (MINN) def. Daniel Valent (VANDY) 6-1, 6-4
5. Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Baker Newman (VANDY) 6-2, 6-0
6. Suresh Eswaran (VANDY) def. Mathieu Froment (MINN) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. No. 2 Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson (VANDY) def. No. 52 Jack Hamburg/Mathieu Froment (MINN) 6-2
2. Leandro Toledo/Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Ryan Smith/Baker Newman (VANDY) 6-2
3. Daniel Valent/Suresh Eswaran (VANDY) def. Matic Spec/Eric Frueh (MINN) 7-6 (4)
Match Notes
Vanderbilt 8-2 (0-0 SEC)
Minnesota 7-2 (1-0 Big Ten)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,4,2,3,6,1)
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