Feb. 17, 2012

Box Score

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Johnny Grimal won the decisive match to give Memphis a 4-3 win at in-state-rival No. 43 Vanderbilt. The Tigers improve to 6-0 on the season and the Commodores drop to 4-4.

The No. 3 singles match was tight at the beginning, with Grimal dropping the first set in a tie-breaker to Bazarnik. Grimal responded by winning the second set, 6-3, to force the decisive third set. Grimal dropped the first game and then won six-straight to give the U of M the victory.

Grimal and Leon Nasemann started the Tigers off with an 8-6 decision against Alex DiValerio and Jeff Offerdahl. Connor Glennon and David Henry secured the doubles point, winning 8-6 over Charlie Jones and Anton Kovrigin. Both duos of Grimal/Nasemann and Glennon/Henry improve to 4-1 on the season. Memphis completed the clean sweep of the doubles matches when David O'Hare and Joe Salisbury defeated the 45th-ranked Gonzalez Austin and Blake Baznarik, 8-5. O'Hare and Salisbury increased their record on the year to, 5-1.

In No. 1 singles, 114th-ranked O'Hare quickly dropped the first set, 6-0, and then dropped the second set, 6-2, to 66th-ranked Charlie Jones. After dropping the first set, 6-2, in the No. 2 singles match, Salisbury fought back to win the second set, 6-3. In the decisive-third set, Salisbury fell to Dorn, 6-0, giving Vandy a 2-1 lead in the dual match.

Glennon went up, 3-0, in the first set and had to fight off Kovrigin to take the set, 6-4. In a hotly contested second set, Glennon earned the win in a tie-break, 7-5. Cedric de Zutter, playing in just his second match of the season fell in straight sets to Offerdahl, 6-1, 6-0.

Nasemann, playing No. 5 singles, got off to a quick start against Joe Dorn, winning the first-five games before taking the first set, 6-1. Dorn responded with a second-set win, 6-2, against Nasemann. The two netters pushed the third set to a tie-break, with Nasemann pulling out the win, 9-7, and setting up the Grimal-Bazarnik third-set finale.

The Tigers will take a trip to the east coast for matches against Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va., and UNC-Wilmington. Memphis and Old Dominion are scheduled to play Friday, Feb. 24, at noon (CT) and the U of M will travel to Wilmington for a match on Sunday, Feb. 26, starting at 11 a.m. (CT).

#37 Memphis 4, #43 Vanderbilt 3
Singles
1. #66 Charlie Jones (VU) def. #114 David O'Hare (MEM) 6-0, 6-2
2. Gonzalez Austin (VU) def. Joe Salisbury (MEM) 6-2, 3-6, 6-0
3. Johnny Grimal (MEM) def. Blake Bazarnik (VU) 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-1
4. Connor Glennon (MEM) def. Anton Kovrigin (VU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Leon Nasemann (MEM) def. Joe Dorn (VU) 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (9-7)
6. Jeff Offerdahl (VU) def. Cedric de Zutter (MEM) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles
1. O'Hare/Salisbury (MEM) def. #45 Austin/Bazarnik (VU) 8-5
2. Glennon/Henry (MEM) def. Jones/Kovrigin (VU) 8-6
3. Grimal/Nasemann (MEM) def. DiValerio/Offerdahl (VU) 8-6

Match Notes
No. 37 Memphis, 6-0
No. 43 Vanderbilt, 4-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1), Singles (1,2,4,6,5,3)