It was a great weekend for the Commodore faithful — a historic basketball game, a sweep for the baseball team and an upset for men’s tennis.
The No. 69 Commodores (4-4) faced an uphill battle against No. 23 Clemson (9-3).
Vanderbilt was coming off of three straight losses, two of which were against top-30 teams, and Sunday’s match didn’t start well for the Commodores. But things quickly changed.
“We played badly in doubles today,” head coach Ian Duvenhage said. “I tried some new things and took some guys out because I just wasn’t happy with their performance. And actually, in retrospect, I think I got their attention.”
Duvenhage may have been talking about two of the stronger doubles players on the team, Evan Dufaux and Nik Cromydas, who were absent from the doubles roster.
“If Evan is not in the lineup for us in doubles, we’re not as good as we can be,” Duvenhage said. “I expect more of them, and I think they know that. I would be very surprised if I don’t get a really good response for both of them in practice this week.”
At No. 2, Dufaux was first off the court. His loss meant the Tigers would need to win just two of the remaining five matches.
Ryan Preston, who played No. 1 singles, quickly dispatched a superbly athletic Clemson Tiger Jermaine Jenkins in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Playing at No. 4, Vijay Paul, the freshman phenom, continued his strong play as he defeated hard-hitting Tiger Paul Koenke in three sets.
Nathan Sach’s loss at No. 5 could best be described as a marathon as it took longer than the combined lengths of Dufaux and Andy Mack’s matches.
It was Andy Mack’s victory at the No. 6 spot that secured the upset for the Commodores and elicited a strong applause from the fans in attendance. His backboard backhand and aggressive forehand proved to be too much for his opponent.
“(After doubles) I said to him, ‘Stay ready because it could come down to your match,’” Duvenhage said. “He looked at me and said, ‘I hope it does.’ That is what you want.”
This victory over a top-25 team was important for the Dores.
“I like the way we’re competing, and we’re starting to believe we can beat teams like this,” Duvenhage said.
