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Flach, Macdonald Accept Invitations To National Team Indoors 12/20/2003 Both teams will compete in premier event Feb. 5-8 Nashville, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt men’s and women’s tennis teams have accepted invitations to participate in the 2004 USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship February 5-8. The men’s event will be hosted in Seattle, Wash., by the Washington Huskies, while the women’s event will take place on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisc. Both fields feature 16 of the top teams from across the country. Vanderbilt is one of eight schools sending both their men’s and women’s programs to the National Team Indoor Championships. The other seven schools are California, Harvard, Kentucky, Stanford, Texas A&M, UCLA and Washington. Rounding out the men’s field are Baylor, Boise State, Duke, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, Texas and Tulsa, while the women’s tournament also will feature BYU, Georgia, North Carolina, Northwestern, USC, Tennessee, William & Mary and host Wisconsin. The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team is scheduled to make its first-ever appearance at the prestigious event, now in its 32nd season. The Commodores advanced to the NCAA Championship match a season ago, and were ranked No. 4 in the ITA’s final poll. The University of Illinois, 2003 NCAA National Champion, also is the defending champion of the National Team Indoors. “We’re very excited to play in this elite event,” Men’s Head Coach Ken Flach said. “This is an extremely difficult field to get into, especially from Region III, with all eight regions being represented in the 16-team field. We hope to get off to a great start and pick up where we left off last season. This being a national tournament, it will give us the opportunity to play some teams that we wouldn’t normally even have the chance to see. It should be a fun weekend.” The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team is making a return trip to the National Team Indoors after withdrawing from the event a year ago due to injuries. The Commodores were finalists in 2002 after defeating No. 17 Northwestern, No. 13 Notre Dame and No. 2 Duke. The Vanderbilt women have made seven previous trips to the National Team Indoors. “We are really fired up to receive an at-large bid to this great event,” Women’s Head Coach Geoff Macdonald said. “It will now be up to us to make the most of this invitation. We’re excited about this season, and this will be a great chance to show it on a national stage.” Both squads will open their 2004 spring schedules in January. On January 15, the men will head to Athens, Ga., for the SEC Indoor Championships, which former Dore Bobby Reynolds won a year ago. The women will play host to Michigan State on January 16th at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center. The Currey Tennis Center also will be the site of both the men’s and women’s Southeastern Conference Tournaments this April. The women’s tournament is scheduled for April 15-18, with the men’s tournament on the following weekend, April 22-25 — VU — |
