Reynolds Falls in Finals of Omni Hotels Region III Championship
Junior Now Advances to ITA Championship in Dallas

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Junior Bobby Reynolds (Acworth, Ga.) fell to Kentucky’s Jesse Witten in the finals of the Omni Hotels Region III Championship, 6-2, 6-4, on Monday at the Hillary J. Boone Tennis Complex.

Despite the loss, Reynolds advances with Witten to the Omni Hotels/ITA Indoor National Championship, November 7-10, in Dallas.

“Bobby had a long match this morning which really took its toll on him,” Vanderbilt head coach Ken Flach said.

“He played well, but Jesse played great. Jesse had the home court, home crowd and was playing with a lot of confidence. Bobby had a great tournament and held his seed, so he has nothing to be ashamed about.”

Both players advanced to the final by winning three-set matches earlier Monday. Reynolds, who is 10-4 this Fall, defeated Tennessee’s Simon Rea, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2. Witten, the top seed, also had a tough three-set match, as he defeated Auburn’s Rameez Junaid, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Witten and Reynolds entered the tournament as the top two seeds. Witten began the year ranked No. 1 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, while Reynolds was ranked No. 9. This was the third career meeting between the two, with Witten now leading the series, 2-1. Witten defeated Reynolds last year during the 2002 SEC dual-match season, but lost in the second round of the NCAA Team Championship.

Reynolds Moves On to Semifinals of Omni Hotels Region III Championships 10/27/02

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Junior Bobby Reynolds moved one step closer to a potential match-up with Kentucky's Jesse Witten, as he defeated Florida's Janne Holmia in the quarterfinals of the Omni Hotels Region III Championships Sunday afternoon at the Hillary J. Boone Tennis Complex.

Reynolds, the second seed in the tournament, defeated Holmia in three sets, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-2. Reynolds will now take on Simon Rea of Tennessee on Monday morning. Rea defeated Paul Ciorasu of Mississippi in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.

If Reynolds makes it past Rea, he will have a potential meeting with Jesse Witten of Kentucky, who advanced in his quarterfinal match on Sunday. Witten entered the 2002-03 season ranked No. 1 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

In doubles action, junior Chad Harris and sophomore Matthew Lockin lost to Bryan Fisher and Jason Hazley of Louisiana State on Sunday, 8-6.

Reynolds Advances; Harris and Lockin Fall at Region III Indoor Championships 10/26/02

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Junior Bobby Reynolds moved on the fourth round of the Omni Hotels Region III Indoor Championships, while junior Chad Harris and sophomore Matthew Lockin fell in their third round matches at the Hillary J. Boone Tennis Complex.

Reynolds, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, defeated Louisiana State's Bryan Fisher in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Reynolds will now take on Middle Tennessee State's Kirk Jackson, who defeated Matt Behrmann of Florida in three sets on Saturday.

Harris, who was the No. 8 seed entering the tournament, was not as lucky. The junior fell to Georiga's Nicolas Boeker in straight-sets, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Boeker is the brother of last year's NCAA individual champion, Matias Boeker.

Lockin lost his third round match to the No. 1 seed Jesse Witten of Kentucky. Wittne defeated the sophomore, 6-4, 6-2. Harris and Lockin did win there first round doubles match, as they defeated Andrew Golub and Tim Krebs of Miami, 8-6.

Men’s Tennis Advances Three at Omni Hotels Region III Indoor Championships 10/25/02

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Several members of the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team competed on the opening day of the Omni Hotels Region III Indoor Championships at the Hillary J. Boone Tennis Complex.

Junior Bobby Reynolds, who entered the tournament seeded No. 2, had a difficult time with Ben Birkmann of Jacksonville; however, he was able to squeeze out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory. He will now face Bryan Fisher of LSU on Saturday. Fisher, who is from Nashville, defeated Robert Van Swelm of Troy State Friday evening.

Junior Chad Harris, who entered the tournament the No. 8 seed, cruised into the third round with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Pfungwa Mahfu of Florida A&M. He will now take on Nicolas Boeker of Georgia on Saturday.

Sophomore Matthew Lockin picked up a straight-set victory over Alabama-Birmingham’s Ruben Zrihen, 6-3, 6-2. Lockin will now face a difficult test in Kentucky’s Jesse Witten, who entered the 2002-03 year ranked No. 1 nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. As just a freshman, Witten made it all the way to the finals of the NCAA Individual Championship before losing to Matias Boeker of Georgia.

Junior Lewie Smith continued his hot play, as he defeated Alabama-Birmingham’s Patrick Suhrbier handily, 6-1, 6-4. Smith then faced No. 11 seed Paco Antelo of South Florida in his second round match. Smith won the first set 7-5, but fell 1-6 in the second. The two battled to a third set tiebreaker, which Smith lost 7-3.

Junior Zach Dailey also had an easy time in his opening round match, as he defeated Andre Box of SEC rival Auburn, 6-2, 6-1. He then faced the No. 15 seed Catalin Gard of Mississippi in the second round. Gard had no problems in advancing to the third round, as he won 6-1, 6-2.
After receiving an opening round bye, sophomore Scott Brown was defeated by Juan Barragan of South Florida in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. After winning two matches in the qualifier, sophomore Jens Pilgram-Larsen was defeated in his opening round by Rodrigo Minozzo of Auburn in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.

Smith and Pilgram-Larsen Advance to Main Draw of Region III Indoor Championships 10/24/02

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Juniors Lewie Smith and Jens Pilgram-Larsen advanced to the main draw, while senior Josh Tarkoff, who was seeded No. 2 in the qualifier, was upset at the Region III Championships on Thursday afternoon at the Hillary J. Boone Tennis Complex. The tournament is being held on the campus of the University of Kentucky.

Main draw action begins at 8 a.m. (EST) Friday morning, while doubles will kick off later in the afternoon.

Smith and Pilgram-Larsen both won two singles matches on Friday, while Tarkoff was upset in the second round after receiving a bye. Smith defeated Knol Nadawu of Florida A&M, as Nadawu was forced to retire in the second set after being down 1-6, 2-1. Smith returned in the afternoon session to defeat Goran Vasiljvic of Tulane in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (2). He will now take on Patrick Suhrbiek of Alabama-Birmingham at 9:30 a.m.

Pilgram-Larsen had a much tougher day, but still was able to advance after playing two three-set matches. In his opening round match, he defeated Michael Hailey of Mississippi State, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7). The junior then defeated Nicolas Lupica of Georgia State in three grueling sets, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2. Pilgram-Larsen will take on Rodrigo Minozzo of Auburn in the opening round of the main draw at 8 a.m. Friday.

Tarkoff was not as fortunate as the other two, as he was upset by Will Chappell of Tennessee Tech in straight sets, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Juniors Bobby Reynolds and Chad Harris are seeded in the main draw, and will see there first action on Friday evening. Reynolds, who is seeded second, will be in action against the winner of Ben Birkmann (Jacksonville)-David Donaldson (Mississippi) match. Harris, who is seeded eighth, will take on the winner of the Hannu Pilroinen (Tulane)-Pfungwa Mahfu (Florida A&M) match at 3:30 p.m.

Junior Zach Dailey and sophomores Scott Brown and Matthew Lockin will all play first round matches on Friday. Dailey takes on Auburn’s Andre Box, Brown takes on the winner of the Razvan Ille (Tennessee Tech)-Juan Barragan (South Florida) match. Lockin takes on either Jorge Llevano (Tulane) or Ruben Zrihen (Alabama-Birmingham).

For all the latest results, go to UKAthletics.com.