Vanderbilt University’s men’s tennis team secured a 4-2 victory over the University of Tennessee on February 23, marking its first win in the rivalry since 2018. The match took place in Nashville and saw Vanderbilt (9-3, 1-1 SEC) gain an early advantage by winning the doubles point after victories at the No. 2 and No. 1 positions.
Head coach Scott Brown emphasized the team’s approach following a previous match against Mississippi State. “One thing we talked about after the Mississippi State match was our mindset,” Brown said. “We left thinking everyone else is going to find out what the Commodores are made of; the SEC is going to find out how tough we are and Tennessee is going to find out how tough we are. And I think that mindset showed today.”
Senior Nathan Cox continued his strong performance for Vanderbilt, maintaining an undefeated singles record this season with a straight-set win over Jan Kobierski. Tennessee (6-6, 0-2 SEC) managed to secure points at No. 3 and No. 5 singles, but Vanderbilt’s Pablo Martinez Gomez quickly responded with a win at Court 2.
The deciding moment came from freshman Hoyoung Roh, who overcame a first set loss against Alejandro Moreno to win in three sets and clinch the overall match for Vanderbilt.
Brown highlighted the nature of the contest: “We knew this would be a culture match and a character match,” he said. “I am really proud of the guys. We didn’t play anywhere near our best, but we were just a little bit tougher than Tennessee in the big moments, and that’s what decided the match. Today was not a pretty match; it was gritty, and that’s how these matches are. In a lot of these contests, it doesn’t come down to tennis, it comes down to how you handle the moment.”
The victory ended a six-match losing streak for Vanderbilt against Tennessee and marked their first Southeastern Conference home opener win since 2023. The rivalry has historically seen teams go on consecutive winning runs over two decades.
Motivation also played a role for Vanderbilt athletes according to Brown: “You’re always trying to find ways to motivate your guys,” he said. “One of our big motivations coming into this match was getting revenge after losing 4-3 in their place last season, as well as basketball losing to Tennessee on Saturday. We’re a family across Vanderbilt athletics, we take care of each other. So we wanted to take it to Tennessee and have our basketball team’s back.”
Vanderbilt will begin a four-match road trip starting with Oklahoma on Friday.
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