March 4, 2011
The Vanderbilt men’s tennis team opens up Southeastern Conference play this weekend as it travels to the Magnolia State to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Ole Miss Rebels. Friday’s match at Mississippi State, originally scheduled for 2 p.m., is rescheduled for 11 a.m. due to severe weather forecasted for the afternoon.
With wins over No. 23 Washington, No. 22 Michigan and No. 44 Indiana, the Commodores are the 22nd ranked team in the nation in the latest ITA College Tennis Poll. Sophomore Ryan Lipman, ranked 36th in the nation, leads the Commodores with an 8-2 record in No. 1 singles matches. Lipman and senior Adam Baker have posted a 6-3 record in No. 1 doubles matches, and stand 49th in the country.
The Bulldogs stand at 4-4 on the season with a recent win over No. 47 TCU. Junior Louis Cant, ranked 73rd nationally, has won three of his last four matches and is 7-2 this spring. Also ranked for the Bulldogs is junior Artem Ilyushin, who is 92nd in the nation.
No. 31 Ole Miss stands 5-2, with a recent 4-0 win over Memphis. Marcel Thiemann and Tucker Vorster are ranked in the ITA singles poll, standing 100th and 101st, respectively. The duo brothers Christoph and Marcel Thiemann are the fifth ranked doubles pair in the nation.
Vanderbilt closes out the weekend at Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon. The Rebels bring a 5-2 record into the first weekend of conference play.