Men’s Tennis Stays Hot With Win Over Mississippi State, 5-2 3/21/03
Reynolds ties VU all-time single-season victory mark

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team kept pace in the Southeastern Conference race, as it defeated Mississippi State on Friday afternoon, 5-2. With the win, the Commodores move their record to 12-2 overall and 3-2 in the SEC, while the Bulldogs fall to 5-8 overall and 1-4 in the conference.

Head coach Ken Flach’s squad won its 13th doubles point in 14 matches this season, but it did not come without a fight. Juniors Bobby Reynolds and Lewie Smith held off Romain Ambert and Jerome Le Belicard to clinch the doubles point in the decisive match at the No. 1 position, 8-6. The seventh-ranked team of Chad Harris and sophomore Scott Brown continued their outstanding play at the No. 2 spot, as they defeated Romaine-Charles Combette and Florence Girod, 8-1. Juniors Zach Dailey and Jens Pilgram-Larsen dropped their match at the No. 3 position, 8-5.

In singles, the No. 2-ranked Reynolds continued his amazing play, as he ended a five-match losing streak to Mississippi State’s Romain Ambert. Reynolds, who has now won 21-consecutive matches, defeated the 60th-ranked Ambert in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. He also tied 2000 Vanderbilt graduate Andrew Nisker’s record for singles wins in a season, as he notched his 31st win of the season.

The 13th-ranked Harris clinched the match for the Commodores, as he defeated Rene-Charles Combette in straight sets at the No. 2 positon. Harris, who is now 11-1 in dual matches, defeated Combette, 6-1, 7-6 (2). Harris and Reynolds have won a combined 58 matches in 2002-03.

Sophomore Matt Lockin picked up a straight-set win at the No. 3 position, as he defeated Belicard, 6-4, 6-1. He has now won two-straight dual matches after dropping his previous two. Smith continued his outstanding play at the No. 6 spot, as he held off Luc Maasdorp in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. He now posts a 16-5 overall record and a solid 12-1 mark in dual matches.

The Commodores return to action at 1 p.m. Saturday for an SEC showdown with sixth-ranked Mississippi in Oxford. The Rebels currently stand at 13-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference.