Men’s Tennis Final Four Bound; Sweeps No. 2 Baylor, 4-0 5/18/03
Brown Clinches Victory for ‘Dores at No. 4 Singles

ATHENS, Ga. - No one could have imagined the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team making the NCAA Final Four at the start of the 2002-03, especially since the Commodores had never advanced past the second round. The seventh-seeded Commodores scored possibly the program’s biggest victory ever on Sunday, defeating second-seeded Baylor in convincing fashion, 4-0, at the Dan MaGill Tennis Complex.

Vanderbilt (26-3) will now take on sixth-seeded UCLA (24-3) at 12 p.m. (EST) Monday at Henry Feild Stadium. The other Final Four matchup will pit the Illinois/Mississippi winner against the Stanford/California winner at 4 p.m. (EST).

Sophomore Scott Brown (St. Louis, Mo.) sealed the Commodores’ victory on Sunday, beating 45th-ranked Matias Marin in three grueling sets, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5, at the No. 4 singles position. The victory was perhaps Brown’s finest moment as a Commodore, who had lost his previous two matches in straight sets. It was Brown’s 20th of the 2002-03 season.

The Commodores got things rolling in doubles, as they picked up wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Juniors Zach Dailey (Memphis, Tenn.) and Lewie Smith (Memphis, Tenn.) gave Vanderbilt its first doubles win, as they defeated Marin and Ivor Lovrak, 8-3. Dailey and Smith have been untouchable this season in posting a 9-0 record.

Junior Chad Harris (Aurora, Colo.) and sophomore Matt Lockin (Lilburn, Ga.) clinched the doubles point with another impressive performance. Harris and Lockin defeated the 33rd-ranked team of Benjamin Becker and Zoltan Popp, 8-3, at No. 2 doubles. Brown and junior Bobby Reynolds (Acworth, Ga.) match with the 29th-ranked team of Benedikt Dorsch and Renier Neurohr was halted after Harris and Lockin clinched the point.

Vanderbilt’s first singles point of the day came from Lockin at the third position. The 66th-ranked Lockin continued his outstanding play in cruising by the 44th-ranked Popp in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. Lockin is now won 28 matches in his first year with the Commodores.

The other singles point came from Harris, who scored a major upset at No. 2 singles. The 16th-ranked Harris stunned the No. 2-ranked Dorsch in three sets, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2. It was Harris’ first completed match since the Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship. Dorsch entered the match with an incredible 42-4 singles record.

Reynolds’ match with Becker was in the third set before the match was stopped. He was down a break of serve in the final set. Dailey was only four games into his match with Neurohr, while Smith had not started his match with Lovrak.

Singles

Doubles