Jan. 29, 2010
LOS ANGELES – With its first match against a top-ranked team since 2007 looming, Vanderbilt’s men’s tennis team traveled to Southern California this week where the Commodores will face its most difficult challenge yet this season when they take on No. 1 USC to open play at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CT at David Marks Stadium.
In addition to facing top-seeded USC on Saturday, Vanderbilt, which is seeded fourth, will play either No. 70 Radford or No. 73 Yale in the consolation (noon CT) or championship (3 p.m. CT) match on Sunday. A webcast is tentatively planned for all of the matches this weekend and can be accessed by clicking . In addition to a webcast, an audio broadcast of the matches will be available on radiotennis.com.
With wintery conditions arriving in Middle Tennessee this weekend, the Commodores will be met with much warmer temperatures in Southern California, where both matches are to be played outdoors with temperatures expected to be in the mid-60s.
Ranked No. 49 nationally, Vanderbilt enters this weekend with a 3-1 record after suffering a 4-3 setback to No. 41 Michigan last week in a match that was played in Raleigh, N.C.
USC, the 2009 NCAA Champions, return all but one of its top six players from last year and is 2-0 this season. The Trojans defeated Loyala Marymount, 7-0, and UC Santa Barbara, 4-3. Its last scheduled match was rained out against San Diego on Jan. 26.
Saturday’s match will mark the first time Vanderbilt has faced the No. 1 ranked team since the 2007 season when Vanderbilt lost 7-0 to No. 1 Georgia.
Individually, USC has six players ranked in singles, including Steve Johnson, who is No. 1 nationally. Also ranked are No. 14 Robert Farah, No. 47 Matt Kecki, No. 65 JT Sundling, No. 78 Daniel Nguyen and No. 116 Jaak Poldma
USC’s doubles team of Robert Farah and Steve Johnson is ranked No. 13.
Ranked 70th, Radford is 0-2 this season with losses against Nebraska and Denver. Radford is led by Ivan Salec, who is ranked 66th in singles. Yale enters this weekend ranked No. 73, and has yet to play a match this spring.
This is the second year of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend and the second year Vanderbilt has participated in the event. Last year, Vanderbilt traveled to Boise, Idaho, where it lost to Auburn before defeating Boise State in the consolation match. USC is one of 15 schools hosting the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The 15 schools that win both their matches will be invited to play in the Feb. 12-15 ITA National Team Indoor Championships.