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No. 22 VU Men’s Tennis Knocks Off No. 19 South Carolina
3/7/2004
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Matt Lockin clinched the match for the Commodores with a come-from-behind victory at No. 4 singles.
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No. 22 VU Men’s Tennis Knocks Off No. 19 South Carolina
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The 22nd-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team put on an impressive performance to defeat 19th-ranked South Carolina, 6-1, on Sunday at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center. Over the weekend, the Commodores defeated a pair of top-20 opponents by a combined 11-3 tally.
Vanderbilt used wins at first and second doubles to clinch the match’s first point. Senior Chad Harris and junior Scott Brown teamed up on center court for an 8-3 victory. Senior Zach Dailey and sophomore Greg Sossaman clinched the point on court two with an 8-4 win. After the point was decided, the third doubles match was cut short at 7-7.
In singles, VU claimed a pair of straight-set victories to take a quick 3-0 lead. Brown improved his dual-match record to 11-0 with a 6-4, 6-0 win over USC’s Carl Wermee at third singles. At sixth singles, Sossaman defeated Gamecock Ben Atkinson, 6-3, 6-2.
USC would get their lone point at fifth singles, but Vanderbilt would quickly cut off any hope of a comeback. Junior Matt Lockin clinched the match at fourth singles. After losing his first set, 2-6, Lockin bounced back to take the next two sets, 6-1, 6-2, and give the Commodores their second-straight SEC victory.
On the first two courts, Harris and Dailey were able to come away with three-set wins. Harris dropped his first set, 5-7, against Marcus Westman, but came back to take the second and third, 6-3, 6-2. Dailey won his first set, 6-4, but then gave up a late break and dropped the second set, 5-7. He won a super-tiebreaker, 11-9, to give the Dores their final 6-1 tally.
The Commodores (8-4, 2-0 in the SEC) will remain at home next weekend to play host to Ole Miss on Friday, March 12, at the Currey Tennis Center. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. CT.
VU 6, USC 1
Doubles
1. Scott Brown/Chad Harris (VU) d. Tom Eklund / Marcus Westman (USC), 8-3
2. Zach Dailey/Greg Sossaman (VU) d. Geraldo Knorr / Pedro Rodrigues (USC), 8-4
3. Ben Atkinson / Carl Wermee (USC) vs. Nathan Sachs/Lewis Smith (VU), 7-7, susp.
Order of Finish: 1, 2
Singles
1. #24 Chad Harris (VU) d. Marcus Westman (USC), 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
2. #47 Zach Dailey (VU) d. Tom Eklund (USC), 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (9)
3. #52 Scott Brown (VU) d. Carl Wermee (USC), 6-4, 6-0
4. #64 Matthew Lockin (VU) d. Pedro Rodrigues (USC), 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. Geraldo Knorr (USC) d. Lewis Smith (VU), 6-2, 6-4
6. Greg Sossaman (VU) d. Ben Atkinson (USC), 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 5, 4*, 1, 2
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