Feb. 27, 2014
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 14 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team opens Southeastern Conference play this weekend on the road with matches against Arkansas and Louisiana State. The Commodores will face the 66th-ranked Razorbacks on Friday, February 27 at 2 p.m., and the No. 73 LSU Tigers on Sunday at noon.
Vanderbilt (8-2) is coming off a weekend split of non-conference opponents Indiana and Michigan. On Friday the Commodores took down No. 58 Indiana, 4-2, before falling to No. 33 Michigan 5-2. Both matches were played on the road.
The Commodores enter conference play atop the standings, as the only two-loss team. Last season Vanderbilt finished with a record of 6-6 against SEC teams, and overall posting a 4-6 record when playing on the road.
Redshirt senior Ryan Lipman has jumped back into the ITA singles rankings just in time for SEC play, coming in this week tied for 122nd. A 2013 All-American, Lipman was ranked fourth overall in the preseason rankings but slipped out after sitting out during the fall. Through the start of dual play the Nashville native has posted a 6-2 record and is riding a four-match win streak.
Vanderbilt’s top-rank singles player, No. 15 Gonzales Austin has backed up his ranking and put together a strong start in dual play. The Miami, Fla., native is 6-1 in dual matches while posting an overall record of 18-5.
Together Lipman and Austin are the fifth-ranked doubles team in the country, putting up an overall record of 17-3. The duo is 7-1 in dual play and has already knocked off seven ranked pairings this year.
Following this two-match road slate the Commodores will be back to Nashville for five-straight matches, beginning with non-conference opponent Ball State. Vanderbilt will make its SEC home opener on Sunday, March 9 against No. 13 Texas A&M.