Men’s Tennis Continues Dual-Match Season Against Charleston Southern 1/31/03
Reynolds Returns to Line-up for Commodores on Saturday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - After moving up two spots from No. 29 to 27 in this week’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team returns to action at 3 p.m. Saturday against Big South Conference opponent Charleston Southern at the Brownlee O. Currey Tennis Center. The Commodores presently stand at 2-0, while the Mocs will be playing in their second match of the season. They kick their dual-match season off on Friday against Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Head coach Ken Flach will be without the services of junior Chad Harris, who will be sitting out Saturday’s match because of the NCAA’s limitations on how many matches an individual can play during a scholastic year. Junior Bobby Reynolds sat out last weekend’s matches against Tennessee-Martin and Tennessee-Chattanooga due to the same rule, but will return to the Commodores’ line-up this weekend. Harris and Reynolds both competed in the ITA National Indoor Championship back in early November in Dallas, which counted toward their allotment of matches.

Led by first-year head coach Mait DuBois, Charleston Southern brings a brings a mix of youth and experience to the court. The Mocs’ roster consists of three seniors, three freshmen and a sophomore. Last season, Charleston Southern won the Big South Conference title and finished with a 18-7 dual-match record. The Mocs fell in the opening round of the NCAA tournament to eventual national runner-up Georgia, 4-0. With the Mocs losing their top two players to graduation, seniors Santiago Falla and Rodrigo Villarroel will be called on to lead the squad. Both players have NCAA tournament experience and will present difficult tests for Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Several Vanderbilt players kicked off their 2003 seasons in strong fashion last weekend. Senior Josh Tarkoff, junior Jens Pilgram-Larsen, sophomore Scott Brown and freshman Greg Sossaman all won both of their singles matches against Tennessee-Martin and Tennessee-Chattanooga. Several of these players will be back in action on Saturday in both singles and doubles.

Following Saturday’s match, the Commodores will hit the road next weekend when they travel to Tulsa and Arkansas for important dual matches. Vanderbilt will take on Tulsa at 2 p.m. Saturday, and follow that up with an SEC dual with Arkansas at 12 p.m. Sunday.