Feb. 25, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 45 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team is back in action this weekend with two doubleheaders. On Friday, February 26, the ‘Dores host Murray State (1:00 pm) and Nashville neighbor Belmont (4:00 pm). On Sunday, VU takes on No. 25 Columbia at noon, with Sewanee following at 4:00.
Last time out:
Vandy, 5-4 overall, heads into Friday’s doubleheader with a 4-2 home record and sweeps over Furman, Lipscomb and Tennessee State.
The ‘Dores come off a hard fought 4-3 loss to the 20th ranked Northwestern Wildcats on the road Sunday afternoon. With the defeat, Vanderbilt now owns a 5-4 record on the year as the squad head into a busy weekend. Vandy took the doubles point over the Wildcats for an early lead as Baker Newman and Tate Allwardt led the charge.
With the doubles point in the Commodores’ possession, the Wildcats strong singles lineup quickly gave the team a 3-1 advantage. While NU searched for their fourth and final win, Vanderbilt benefitted tremendously by a late surge to make it 3-all. Newman fell on court three for the match; 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
Oracle/ITA Rankings:
In the latest Oracle/ITA rankings, Vanderbilt sophomore Daniel Valent jumped 33 sports to No. 64 in the country. The ranking is the Zurich, Switzerland native’s highest so far, and comes after being named last week’s SEC Player of the Week.
Scouting the Racers:
MSU enters the weekend with a 1-5 record. Four of the Racers losses were sweeps from the hands of Memphis, MTSU and the SEC’s Kentucky. The Racer’s victory came over Olivet Nazarene University, 4-3.
Scouting the Bruins:
Belmont heads into Friday’s 4:00 match with a 4-2 record. The squad’s two losses came from Kennesaw State, 5-2 and Lipscomb, 4-3. In their last meeting, the Commodores swept the Bears 4-0 at home.
Scouting the Lions:
Before traveling to West End, Columbia (6-3) takes on MTSU on the 27th. In the latest Oracle/ITA rankings the Lions boast two ranked doubles teams and one ranked singles player. No. 1 doubles will have a tough time on their hands, as Hadavi/Pham are No. 10 in the nation. Vermeer and Rolski follow the tandem at 33. Hadavi comes in at No. 53 in singles for the squad.
Scouting Sewanee:
Sewanee enters Sunday’s 4:00 competition with a 4-2 record. The squad’s two losses come from DI programs; MTSU (L, 8-1) and UTC (L, 5-4). Against DIII schools, the squad has only dropped a single game.