Men’s Tennis Set for Showdown with Cross-town Rival MTSU 4/8/03

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The 10th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team will step out of conference action one more time before concluding its 2003 regular season with two Southeastern Conference matches. The Commodores will travel to take on cross-town rival Middle Tennessee State at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Murfreesboro Racquet Club in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The Commodores will conclude their regular season with a home match at 2 p.m. Friday against Kentucky and a road trip to Columbia, S.C. to take on South Carolina at 1 p.m. (EST) Sunday.
Vanderbilt enters Wednesday’s match with an overall record of 16-3, while MTSU has had a difficult season, as it has posted a 5-14 mark. The Commodores squeezed out a tight, 4-2, win over the Blue Raiders last season in Nashville.

Both teams are headed in the opposite directions, as the Commodores have won six of their last seven matches, including five-straight conference matches. On the other hand, the Blue Raiders have lost six of their last seven matches.

The showcase match on Wednesday will be at the No. 1 singles position, as Vanderbilt junior Bobby Reynolds, who is ranked No. 2 nationally, will collide with MTSU senior Daniel Klemetz, who enters the match No. 11. Klemetz, who was injured the majority of the fall season, is the defending NCAA singles champion. In their only meeting of the 2002-03 season, Klemetz defeated Reynolds in three sets at the Charles Fluitt Invitational back in September in Lexington, Ky.

While Klemetz has been getting back into match shape, Reynolds has been one of the hottest players in the college tennis since the loss. Reynolds will take 35-6 overall record, which includes a 9-0 mark in SEC matches at the No. 1 position, into his showdown with Klemetz. The MTSU senior currently holds a 19-12 overall record and a 7-8 mark in dual matches.

The Commodores have gotten back on track in a big way after their loss to non-conference foe Tulane back on March 30. Last weekend, Vanderbilt scored big wins over SEC Western Division foes Auburn and Alabama. In both matches, the Commodores were able to pick up the critical doubles point, something which had eluded them their previous two matches. They have now won 15 of 18 doubles points this season.

Junior Zach Dailey and sophomore Scott Brown both enter Wednesday's match with a lot of momentum. Both players went undefeated last weekend in there singles and doubles matches at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, respectively. Dailey has posted 14 dual-match wins, while Brown has won 12. All of Vanderbilt's top six players have won at least singles matches this season.