Men's Tennis Advances to SEC Tournament Semifinals; Defeats Georgia, 4-0 4/18/03
Commodores to square off with tournament host Ole Miss on Saturday

OXFORD, Miss. - The second-seeded Vanderbilt men's tennis team moved one step closer to winning its first Southeastern Conference Tournament championship, as the Commodores defeated 10th-seeded Georgia, 4-0, on Friday evening at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. It is the first time Vanderbilt has advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.

With the win, the Commodores improve to 20-3 on the year, while the Bulldogs fall to 9-14. The Commodores defeated the Bulldogs by a combined score of 11-0 in their two matches.

Vanderbillt will now advance to play tournament host and third-seeded Mississippi at 2 p.m. (CST) Saturday. The Rebels defeated Auburn on Friday afternoon, 4-1. Vanderbilt defeated Mississippi earlier in the season, 4-3, in Oxford.

On Friday evening, the Commodores got things going by winning the doubles' point once again. The Commodores have now won the point in 19 of 22 matches, which they have participated in doubles.

Vanderbilt's two doubles' wins came at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. At No. 2, junior Chad Harris and sophomore Matt Lockin easily disposed of Strahinja Bobusic and Raian Luchici, 8-3. Harris and Lockin are now 5-0 since joining forces back on April 4 against Auburn.

The Commodores locked up the first point when junior Zach Dailey and sophomore Scott Brown held off Stephan Timu and Will Glenn, 9-7. Dailey and Brown's win came in the decisive match, as juniors Bobby Reynolds and Lewie Smith lost at the No. 1 position.

Vanderbilt head coach Ken Flach had his team playing solid singles also on Friday. The Commodores' three wins came in straight sets. Dailey kept his incredible level of tennis up, as he cruised by Jason Varela at the No. 5 position, 6-2, 6-1. He has now won six-straight dual matches and 18-3 for the season.

The next point came from 2003 SEC Player of the Year Bobby Reynolds, who is currently ranked No. 2 nationally. For the second time this season, he defeated Bo Hodge in straight sets. On Friday, Reynolds defeated the sixth-ranked Hodge, 6-4, 6-4. Reynolds improves his overall record to 39-6 on the year and 20-1 in dual matches.

Lockin, who was named second-team All-SEC, sealed the match at the No. 3 position. The University of Michigan transfer crusied by Timu in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. He improves his to 14-6 with the win.

Singles

Doubles