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NASHVILLE – The 36th-ranked Virginia Tech men’s tennis team fell to 19th-ranked Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon in the opening round of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship at the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville, Tenn.

The Commodores (17-10) took the early 1-0 lead, winning the doubles point to start the match. Tech (14-12) claimed the win in the No. 3 as Joao Monteiro and Jai Corbett teamed up for an 8-1 decision against Vandy’s Rhys Johnson and Pen Binet.

Vanderbilt evened things up in the doubles point, winning in the No. 2 with Ryan Smith and Suresh Eswaran securing the 8-4 win over Tech’s Hunter Koontz and Florian Nicoud. The Commodores claimed the point with a victory in the No. 1 doubles. Vandy’s fourth-ranked pair of Gonzales Austin and Ryan Lipman defeated Tech’s 46th-ranked Amerigo Contini and Andreas Bjerrehus, 8-4.

The Commodores went on top 2-0 after winning in the No. 4 singles where Johnson defeated Koontz, 6-2, 6-2. Vanderbilt extended its lead to 3-0 as Eswaran claimed the 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) decision against Corbett in the No. 5.

In the No. 6, Tech’s Nicoud battled Smith with the Vanderbilt player taking the first set 6-4. In the second set the two went back and forth and were tied at 6-6, but Smith held on in the tiebreaker to secure the win 7-6 (7-4).

In the unfinished matches, the Hokies 20th-ranked Contini squared off against 21st-ranked Austin in the No. 1. After falling in the first set, 6-3, Contini came back to win the second set, 7-5. The two were tied at 2-2 in the third set.

In the No. 2, Tech’s Bjerrehus, ranked 92nd in the ITA, faced 59th-ranked Lipman. Bjerrehus won the first set 7-6 (7-0), but Lipman claimed the 7-6 (7-4) decision in the second. The match was decided before the third set began.

Monteiro took the first set, 6-2 in the No. 3 over Vanderbilt’s Kris Yee. In the second set, Yee responded to win 6-4. Monteiro led 2-1 in the third before the match was decided.

The Hokies finish the season with 14-12 record while Vanderbilt improves to 17-10 and advances to face Columbia in the next round.

Contini will be back on the court at the NCAA Singles Championship beginning May 21 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

Singles
1. #20 Amerigo Contini (VT) vs. #21 Gonzales Austin (VU) 3-6, 7-5, 2-2 dnf
2. #92 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT) vs. #59 Ryan Lipman (VU) 7-6 (7-0), 6-7 (4-7) dnf
3. Joao Monteiro (VT) vs. Kris Yee (VU) 6-2, 4-6, 2-1 dnf
4. Rhys Johnson (VU) def. Hunter Koontz (VT) 6-2, 6-2
5. Suresh Eswaran (VU) def. Jai Corbett (VT) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Ryan Smith (VU) def. Florian Nicoud (VT) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
Order of finish: 4,5,6

Doubles
1. #4 Austin/Lipman (VU) def. #46 Contini/Bjerrehus (VT) 8-4
2. Smith/Eswaran (VU) def. Koontz/Nicoud (VT) 8-4
3. Corbett/Monteiro (VT) def. Pen Binet/Johnson (VU) 8-1
Order of finish: 3,2,1

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