NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt fifth-year senior George Harwell is set to make his last appearance as a Commodore in the NCAA Singles Championship at 5 p.m. Monday at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Illinois. Hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the NCAA Individual Championships will be held from May 23-28, following the conclusion of the team tournament.
Featuring 64 singles players, Harwell will face Virginia’s Chris Rodesch in the first round. Rodesch earned the Atlantic Coastal Conference’s (ACC’s) automatic qualification into the singles championship. The sophomore currently has a 25-8 record on the season and ranked No. 30 in the latest ITA singles rankings. He’s also looking to help the No. 7 seed Cavaliers win their fifth NCAA Championships team title on Sunday as they face No. 8 seed Kentucky at 3 p.m.
“George Harwell is the quintessential Vanderbilt Commodore,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “He has bled Black and Gold from an early age and through hard work and determination, he has become one of the best players in college tennis. He’s proven that he can beat anyone in the nation and I’m excited to be part of the final chapter of his Vanderbilt career.”
Making his first appearance in the NCAA Singles Championship, Harwell is also the first Dore to compete in the singles championship since Cameron Klinger and Daniel Valent in 2018. In a list that includes associate head coach Ryan Lipman, Harwell is the 15th individual to represent the Black and Gold in the NCAA Singles Championship.
An All-SEC first team honoree, Harwell enters championship play with 20 singles wins on the season, including five ranked wins all on the top court. Harwell also had a historic regular season home finale on April 10 against in-state rival and No. 6 Tennessee, reaching 100 singles wins after defeating then-14th ranked Adam Walton, who is the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship. Earlier in the season, the Nashville native won a three-set thriller over No. 4 seed Liam Draxl of Kentucky, who was No. 94 on March 25, and the preseason No. 1 and 2021 NCAA singles semifinalist. Draxl clinched Kentucky’s NCAA semifinal win against No. 4 seed Ohio State on Saturday to propel the Wildcats to their first championship team appearance in program history. Draxl and Kentucky will face No. 7 seed Virginia at 3 p.m. Sunday during the championship match.
“I couldn’t be more excited to compete for this…