Men’s Tennis Upsets #27 Vanderbilt on the Road, 5-2

Thursday, February 4

Nashville, TN

5:00 p.m.

University of Memphis

#27 Vanderbilt University

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Men’s Tennis Upsets #27 Vanderbilt on the Road, 5-2

Feb 04, 2016 | Men's Tennis

Tigers move to 4-2 on the year.

By: Tammy DeGroff

NASHVILLE – Freshman Felix Rauch lost his opening set at number five singles, 6-0, but by the time the freshman won his second set, forcing a third, he found himself in position to seal a road win for the Memphis men's tennis team (4-2), sealing the deal with a 6-2 third set victory. Memphis won the match, 5-2, giving the Tigers their first win over number 27-ranked Vanderbilt since 2012 and just their sixth win in the 22 match series history.

Memphis took the early lead with wins at two and three doubles. Vandy won the match at number one, 6-4, but the team of Andrew Watson and Shakeel Manji evened the score with a 6-3 win at three. Ryan Peniston and Felix Rauch added a 6-4 win at number two, pushing the Tigers up 1-0 in the match.

Peniston then cruised to his 18^th win of the season in singles play with a 6-2, 6-2 win at two singles. Kei Lemke made it 3-0 Memphis with a 6-2, 7-6 win at number four before Vanderbilt posted their first point of the night with a 7-6, 6-1 win at number one.

Then it was Rauch's turn. The freshman came back from his 6-0 opening set loss in quick fashion, winning the second set 6-1. With the team win on the line, he grabbed the third set 6-2, pushing Memphis to 4-2 on the year.

The teams played out the remaining singles matches from there. Vanderbilt picked up a second point with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 win at number three, but Manji answered with a 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5) win at number six for the final 5-2 score.

The Tigers remain in Nashville and will face number 32 ranked Harvard at 5 p.m., Friday.

Doubles
No. 1 – Cameron Klinger/Rhys Johnson (Vanderbilt) def. Kai Lemke/Louis Asser (Memphis), 6-4
No. 2 – Ryan Peniston/Felix Rauch (Memphis) def. Pen Binet/Ryan Smith (Vanderbilt), 6-4
No. 3 – Andrew Watson/Shakeel Manji (Memphis) def. Baker Newman/Daniel Valent (Vanderbilt), 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2 *
Singles
No. 1 -- #64 Daniel Valent (Vanderbilt) def. #87 Andrew Watson (Memphis), 7-6 (1), 6-1
No. 2 – Ryan Peniston (Memphis) def. Rhys Johnson (Vanderbilt), 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 –Baker Newman (Vanderbilt) def. Chris Patzanovsky (Memphis), 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 – Kai Lemke (Memphis) def. Cameron Klinger (Vanderbilt), 6-2, 7-6 (4)
No. 5 – Felix Rauch (Memphis) def. Kris Yee (Vanderbilt), 0-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 – Shakeel Manji (Memphis) def. Ryan Smith (Vanderbilt), 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5)
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 5*, 3, 6