Men's Tennis Falls Short in Upset Bid of No. 2-Ranked Florida, 4-3 3/16/03
Reynolds earns 19th-consecutive singles win of season

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Vanderbilt men's tennis team fell one singles victory short of upsetting Southeastern Conference rival and No. 2-ranked Florida, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon at the Ring Tennis Complex. The Commodores, whose six-match winning streak came to an end, fall to 10-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC, while the Gators improve their record to 15-2 overall and 6-0 in conference play.

Besides their winning streak coming to an end, the Commodores also had another streak come to a halt, which factored into the final team score. Vanderbilt dropped its first doubles point of the season, as it lost two of the three doubles matches. The Commodores only win came at the No. 1 position, as juniors Bobby Reynolds and Lewie Smith upset 13th-ranked Hamid Mirzadeh and Chris McDonald, 8-4.

Despite losing the doubles point, the Commodores had their opportunities to win the match in singles. The No. 2-ranked Reynolds knotted the team score up at 1-1, as he cruised by Mirzadeh in straight sets at the No. 1 position, 6-2, 6-3. The Vanderbilt junior now has won 19-consecutive singles matches and is 29-5 overall in 2002-03.

The Gators grabbed control of the match, as they picked up wins at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions to take a 3-1 lead. Florida's Troy Hahn defeated junior Zach Dailey in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 4 spot, while Magallan defeated sophomore Scott Brown, also in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.

Florida clinched the match at the No. 3 position, as Olivier Levant came back from one set down against sophomore Matthew Lockin to win, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Levant's win gave Florida a 4-1 lead, which was all it would need.

Vanderbilt's other two singles wins came from junior Chad Harris and Smith. The 13th-ranked Harris scored an upset win over fourth-ranked Janne Holmia in three grueling sets, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. Harris is now 24-7 overall and 9-1 in dual matches this year. Smith also battled back from one set down, as he defeated Behrmann, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Smith has now compiled a 10-1 dual-match record in 2003.

The Commodores will look to get back on the winning track, as they return to action at 2 p.m. Wednesday for their final non-conference match of the year against No. 33-ranked Louisville at the Brownlee O. Currey Tennis Center. Admission for the match is free.

Singles

Doubles