Vanderbilt Tennis’ Squads Well Represented in Final ITA Polls 5/30/03

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its final team and individual rankings for the 2002-03 season on Friday, and both the Vanderbilt men’s and women’s tennis teams were well represented.

The men’s team (27-4), which finished national runner up to Illinois, came in tied for fourth with Baylor. The Commodores finished the year with their highest ranking in program history. In frot of Vanderbilt was Stanford, Florida and NCAA national champion Illinois. The women’s team (21-6) concludes the year ranked No. 13 after its run to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. NCAA national champion Florida, Stanford, Duke, California and Southern California finished as the top five teams in the nation.

Despite being upset in the NCAA Round of 16 by Washington’s Alex Vlaski, junior Bobby Reynolds (Acworth, Ga.) finished as Vanderbilt first No. 1 ranked player. Reynolds, who finished the year with a 46-7 overall record, edged out NCAA individual champion Amer Delic of Illinois. Junior Chad Harris (Aurora, Colo.) finished the year ranked 10th, as he finished the year with an outstanding 34-11 record. Vanderbilt is the only team in the country to have two players ranked in the Top 10. Sophomore Matt Lockin (Lilburn, Ga.) completed his first year with the Commodores ranked 61st. The University of Michigan transfer finished with 28 wins this year.

Head coach Ken Flach’s squad, who won 26 of 30 dual-match doubles points in 2003, finished with three doubles teams ranked. Reynolds and sophomore Scott Brown (St. Louis, Mo.) turned in a final ranking of No. 12. Brown also made the rankings with Harris, as they finished 24th. Brown and Harris had a 15-4 record during the 2002-03 season. Reynolds and junior Lewie Smith (Memphis, Tenn.) round things out for Vanderbilt at No. 32.

The women’s team also had a solid showing in the ITA rankings. Senior Sarah Riske (McMurray, Pa.), who finished the year with 211 career victories, came in at No. 21. She concluded her 2002-03 season by earning ITA All-American honors in both singles and doubles. Juniors Aleke Tsoubanos (Chesterfield, Mo.) and Kelly Schmandt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) finished the year No. 76 and No. 91, respectively. The two combined to win 46 singles matches throughout the year.

The doubles tandem of Riske and Tsoubanos concluded their partnership ranked fifth. They finished the year with a 32-8 record, which included a Riviera/ITA All-American championship. Schmandt and sophomore Audra Falk (Cincinnati, Ohio), who earned All-SEC First Team honors in 2003, turned in a ranking of 46th.

Vanderbilt Players in Final ITA Polls

Men
Singles
Bobby Reynolds #1
Chad Harris #10
Matt Lockin #61
Doubles
Reynolds/Brown #12
Harris/Brown #24
Reynolds/Smith #32

Women
Singles
Sarah Riske #21
Aleke Tsoubanos #76
Kelly Schmandt #91
Doubles
Riske/Tsoubanos #5
Falk/Schmandt #46