May 13, 2016 Complete Results
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The No. 28 San Diego men's tennis team (24-7, 9-0 WCC) defeated the No. 34 Vanderbilt Commodores (17-14) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Los Angeles by a final score of 4-0. The Toreros will face the No. 2 UCLA Bruins in the second round on Saturday at 1 p.m.
"It was great to be back competing today," head coach Ryan Keckley said. "It's been a little while since we've been in that mode, and after we scraped off the rust and nerves of the moment, I thought we settled in nicely. We fought hard in doubles and played to our potential."
Uros Petronijevic and doubles partner Filip Vittek came out firing for the Toreros as they took control of the No. 1 doubles match against Vandy's Tate Allwardt and Pen Binet. The San Diego duo clinched the first match of the day 6-3 to put the Toreros in the drivers seat.
Not long after Alexandros Araouzos and Jann Kononov clinched the point with a 6-3 victory of their own over Baker Newman and Daniel Valent. Araouzos and Kononov are 4-0 since partnering up in the doubles rotation. Jordan Angus and Joshua Page were lead 5-3 before the double match was clinched and play was abandoned.
In singles the Toreros received more of the same as No. 71 Angus jolted San Diego to a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-3 win in the No. 2 position. The senior earned his team-leading 26th win of the season while earning his second victory over the Commodores' Rhys Johnson.
Another senior, Romain Kalaydjian, continued the Torero dominance as he clinched a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Alex Ross in the No. 5 spot. Kalaydjian has a career-best 21 victories this season and is now on a nine-match winning streak.
"Roma and Jordan were flat out impressive," Keckley said of the seniors. "They both separated themselves from their opponents and got USD on the board early. The fourth point did not come easy as Vanderbilt fought off our early momentum, capturing a few key points from us late in the second sets."
To clinch the match Vittek outlasted Newman in a 7-6, 7-6 battle. The USD junior was named the ITA Southwest Region Player to Watch just last week and backed it up by propelling the Toreros into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
No. 65 Petronijevic had just started his third set against No. 36 Valent when play came to a halt. Kononov and Araouzos were both leading in the third set in their matches respectively before play was abandoned.
This is now the fifth time in the last six years that the men's tennis team has advanced to the second round of the tournament. The team will be back on the court tomorrow looking for revenge against a UCLA team that beat them earlier in the season.
"We are excited for the opportunity to face off against UCLA tomorrow for a chance to head to the sweet 16," Keckley said.
Vanderbilt vs San Diego
May 13, 2016 at Los Angeles, CA
(Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts)
#28 San Diego 4, #34 Vanderbilt 0
Singles competition
1. #65 Uros Petronijevic (USD) vs. #36 Daniel Valent (VANDY) 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 0-1, unfinished
2. #71 Jordan Angus (USD) def. Rhys Johnson (VANDY) 6-2, 6-3
3. Filip Vittek (USD) def. Baker Newman (VANDY) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-2)
4. Jaan Kononov (USD) vs. Kris Yee (VANDY) 3-6, 6-4, 2-0, unfinished
5. Romain Kalaydjian (USD) def. Alex Ross (VANDY) 6-3, 6-2
6. Alexandros Araouzos (USD) vs. Pen Binet (VANDY) 6-2, 4-6, 5-3, unfinished
Order Finished (2,5,3)
Doubles competition
1. Uros Petronijevic/Filip Vittek (USD) def. Tate Allwardt/Pen Binet (VANDY) 6-3
2. Jordan Angus/Joshua Page (USD) vs. Rhys Johnson/Kris Yee (VANDY) 5-3, unfinished
3. Alexandros Araouzos/Jaan Kononov (USD) def. Baker Newman/Daniel Valent (VANDY) 6-3
Order Finished (1,3)
