TULSA, Okla. — The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team had its run at the ITA All-American Championships end in the round of 16 doubles match.
Sophomore Hugo Coquelin and fifth-year Henry Ruger took the court winners of five straight with hopes to advance past Cal’s No. 13-ranked Alex Chang and Michael Wright. The Golden Bears tried to dash those hopes early, controlling opening play and pushing ahead 3-1. Coquelin and Ruger did bounce back, tying the score 4-4, but were unable to capture the lead throughout the remainder of the set. Cal closed out the opening frame 6-4, taking 32 points to Vanderbilt’s 25.
The Commodores, who used a comeback effort on Wednesday to overcome an opening set loss, began Thursday’s second set with a similar tone. Coquelin and Ruger took a 3-1 set lead and held a 4-2 differential after splitting service games with their opponents. Cal started to capitalize off of Commodore mistakes, however, and the Golden Bears began to surge back. The Dores committed three total unforced errors in the second set, leading the score to ultimately replicate the first. Cal again captured the set 6-4 for the match win and round advance.
The Commodores have a short break before returning to play Oct. 10 for the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships hosted by Purdue. Sophomore Danil Panarin is set to compete in the ITF M25 Futures on Oct. 7 in Louisville, Kentucky.