Men's Tennis Upset by 27th-Ranked Tulane, 4-1 3/30/03
Reynolds has 23-match winning streak snapped in Commodores' loss

NEW ORLEANS, La. - A gutsy performance by senior Mattias Westerberg at No. 5 singles clinched a 4-1 victory for Tulane University against the eighth-ranked Vanderbilt men's tennis team on Sunday afternoon at the Goldring Tennis Stadium. The win was the 21st in a row at home for the Green Wave, while the Commodores had their four-match winning streak snapped.

Westerberg, who needed an injury timeout in the first set, which he lost 6-2, recovered and rallied for 6-4, 6-2 victories in the second and third sets to wrap up the win for Tulane, which is No. 27 in the country.

Tulane junior Michael Kogan, who is ranked No. 23 in the nation, had a straight-set victory 6-4, 7-6 in a hard-hitting battle at No. 1 singles against Bobby Reynolds, who holds the No. 2 ranking in the country. Kogan's upset of Reynolds ended the Acworth, Ga. native's 23-match winning streak. Reynolds still holds an incredible 33-6 overall and 14-1 mark in dual matches.

Kogan teamed with Victor Romero, who are ranked sixth nationally, for a convincing 8-2 triumph over the 14th-ranked team of Reynolds and junior Lewis Smith at No. 1 doubles. Kogan and Romero, how 17-1 this season. The Green Wave clinched the doubles point when Jorge Lievano and Hannu Piiroinen defeated junior Zach Dailey and sophomore Scott Brown, 8-5, at the third doubles position. The Commodores only doubles win came at the No. 2 positon, as junior Chad Harris and sophomore Matt Lockin defeated Goran Vasiljevic and Koch, 8-1.

After Tulane won the doubles point, sophomore Dmitriy Koch cruised by Brown, 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 3 singles position, giving the Wave a 2-0 advantage in the match.

The lone point for Vanderbilt came at No. 4 singles where the 89th-ranked Lockin had a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over the Wave's Jorge Lievano. In completed matches, Lockin was Vanderbilt's only player to win both singles matches over the weekend.

Two singles matches were not completed. At No. 2, Tulane's Romero held a slim 6-4, 4-6, 6-5 lead over 10th-ranked Harris, while Piiroinen trailed 6-4, 5-7, 3-4 at No. 6 singles. The match was halted when Westerberg's win clinched the victory for Tulane, which improves to 14-5. Vanderbilt, which had defeated LSU, 5-2, on Friday, drops to 14-3 with the loss.

The Commodores will now return home following their four-match roadtrip, as they will take on 29th-ranked Auburn at 2 p.m. Friday at the Brownlee O. Currey Tennis Center. Admission for Friday's match is free.

Singles

Doubles