NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team kicks off its 2002-03 season on Friday morning when it competes in the 15th Annual Middle Tennessee State University Fall Invitational at the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Matches begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday and run through Sunday afternoon. In case of inclement weather, tournament matches will be moved The Racquet Club in Murfreesboro.

The tournament has been set up to have a ranked flight with round-robin play, as well as three flights of singles (A1, A2 and B) and three flights of doubles (1-3). There will be first-round consolation brackets that will begin Saturday.

Vanderbilt head coach Ken Flach will have the opportunity for his team to showcase its talent against some of the best teams in the region, including SEC rivals Tennessee, Kentucky, Auburn and Middle Tennessee State. The Commodores will take on all four of these teams in dual-match action during the Spring season.

The opportunity for a breakthrough year is definitely possible for Flach’s squad, as he returns everyone from last season’s NCAA Tournament squad along with three new additions. Heading the list of returnees is All-American Bobby Reynolds (Acworth, Ga.). The junior enters the 2002-03 season ranked No. 9 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason national rankings. He is coming off a season where he won 30 singles matches, including victories over eventual national champion Matias Boeker of Georgia and national runner-up Jesse Witten of Kentucky. An All-SEC performer, Reynolds made it to the second round of the NCAA Individual Championship.

Vanderbilt also returns senior Josh Tarkoff (Miami, Fla.), juniors Chad Harris (Aurora, Colo.), who earned an ITA preseason ranking of No. 38, Zach Dailey (Memphis, Tenn.), Lewis Smith (Memphis, Tenn.) and sophomore Scott Brown (St. Louis, Mo.). Flach also added transfers Matthew Lockin (Atlanta, Ga.), who came from the University of Michigan, Jens Pilgram-Larson (Oslo, Norway), who came from the University of Stony Brook, and freshman Greg Sossaman (Memphis, Tenn.) to give the Commodores one of their deepest teams in the program’s history.

Beside the Commodores, other teams participating are Arkansas-Little Rock, Auburn, Austin Peay, Evansville, Jacksonville State, Kentucky, Lipscomb, Louisville, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Ouachita Baptist, Mississippi, Southern Illinois, Tennessee, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, UT-Martin and Western Kentucky.