March 10, 2011
Friday’s match against Georgia marks the first time Vanderbilt assistant coach Jamie Hunt with coach against his former teammates and coaches. Click here to read thoughts on the reunion from Hunt, head coach Ian Duvenhage, and Georgia head coach Manual Diaz, written by Georgia’s Kate Burkholder.
After defeating Ball State, 6-1, Wednesday evening, the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team returns to conference play when Georgia and Tennessee visit the Currey Tennis Center.
The Commodores, ranked 23rd in the latest ITA team poll, is 9-4 on the season, with a 0-2 mark in SEC play. In the No. 1 spot, Ryan Lipman holds an 8-4 record in dual matches and a 17-9 mark overall this year.
Since a 4-3 victory for the Commodores in the 2004 NCAA Championships, the Bulldogs have won six in a row in the series, including last year’s match-up when current Vanderbilt assistant coach Jamie Hunt clinched the win for Georgia.
Georgia stands 10-3 on the season, with losses to No. 4 Ohio State, No. 21 Georgia Tech and third-ranked Tennessee. A trio of Bulldogs are ranked in the top-50 singles players in the nation: Will Spencer at No. 15, Javier Garrapiz is No. 24 and Sadio Doumbia stands at No. 37. Georgia also has three doubles pairs ranked in the top 80, with Hernus Pieters and Garrapiz at No. 6, Doumbia and Ignacio Taboada at No. 36 and Spencer and Drake Berstein are No. 79. Spencer and Berstein hold an 11-1 record in dual matches, including a 9-1 mark in No. 3 matches.
Tennessee, the second-ranked team in the nation, holds a 12-1 record entering this weekend, with its only loss coming to Virginia in the final of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. Last season, the Volunteers picked up a 6-1 win over Vanderbilt in Knoxville.
Five of UT’s top six players are ranked in the top 125 by the ITA. Rhyne Williams stands at No. 3, while John-Patrick Smith is ranked 13th. Tennys Sandgren and Matteo Fago are ranked 35th and 41st, respectively, while Boris Conkic closes out the rankings at 113th. Conkic and Smith are the top-ranked doubles pair in the nation.
Live stats will be available for both matches by clicking . Also, follow the team on Twitter @VandyMensTennis for updates throughout all home matches.