Men’s Tennis Rolls into NCAA Quarterfinals; Defeats Texas A&M, 4-1 5/17/03
Commodores to Take on Baylor/Alabama Winner in Quarterfinals

ATHENS, Ga. - The seventh-seeded Vanderbilt men’s tennis team (25-3) moved one step closer to its ultimate goal, a NCAA Championship, as the Commodores defeated 10th-seeded Texas A&M (21-10), 4-1, on Saturday afternoon on the McWhorter Courts at the Dan MaGill Tennis Complex.

The Commodores will now take on the winner of the No. 2 Baylor/No. 15 Alabama match, which started following the Vanderbilt-Texas A&M match. The Commodores will take on the Bears or Crimson Tide at 12 p.m. (EST) Sunday.

Vanderbilt, who has won 11 straight dual matches, started the afternoon off in familiar fashion, as it win the doubles point for the 23rd time in 27 opportunities. Junior Chad Harris (Aurora, Colo.) and sophomore Matt Lockin (Lilburn, Ga.) got things going at the No. 2 position, as they rolled by Matt Loucks and John Nallon, 8-0. This was a big win for the Vanderbilt duo, as they had dropped their previous three doubles matches.

Junior Bobby Reynolds (Acworth, Ga.) and sophomore Scott Brown (St. Louis, Mo.) wrapped up the point at the No. 1 position, when they defeated Texas A&M’s 25th-ranked team of Ryan Newport and Lester Cook, 8-3. Reynolds and Brown are now 7-1 as a doubles team during the 2002-03 season.

Reynolds, the No. 1-ranked singles player in the country, scored a straight-set victory of the 13th-ranked Newport, 6-3, 6-4, at the top position. Reynolds has now won nine straight matches and 23 of his last 24. For the 2002-03 season, he holds a 42-6 overall record and a 23-1 dual-match mark.

Lockin sealed another of Vanderbilt’s singles points, as the 66th-ranked player defeated 50th-ranked Ante Matijevic in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2. This was a big win for Lockin, who was defeated rather handily in his previous match against Pepperdine’s Diego Acuna. He has won 27 matches this season for the Commodores.

Junior Lewie Smith (Memphis, Tenn.) sealed the final point for Vanderbilt, defeating John Nallon, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 6 singles. Smith, who has five straight victories, is now 27-8 for the year, which includes a 21-4 dual-match record.

The Aggies only win of the day came at No. 4 singles, as Khaled El Dorry edged out Brown, 7-5, 6-4. Harris and junior Zach Dailey (Memphis, Tenn.) had their matches halted after the Commodores had already clinched the team victory.

Singles

Doubles