March 15, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 34 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team has three upcoming matches this week, hosting No. 21 Mississippi State on Thursday at 4 pm with doubleheader action on Saturday at noon and 4 pm against Auburn and Illinois State.
VU heads into the weekend with a 9-7 (1-3) record. The Commodores’ one conference win came against in-state rival, Tennessee, 4-3. Last weekend, the squad went 0-2 on the road, falling 6-1 to No. 12 Texas A&M and 4-3 to LSU.
Scouting the Bulldogs:
Mississippi State owns an 11-3 (2-0) record and is riding a seven-match win streak. The Bulldogs’ two conference victories came against Auburn in a 4-2 victory and Alabama, 5-2.
MSU has one ranked singles player in No. 4 Nuno Borges. The sophomore just recently lost his first dual match of the season (9-1) in three sets to Alabama’s No. 41 Mazen Osama at No. 1 singles. Trevor Foshey and Niclas Braun represent the Bulldogs in the latest Oracle/ITA doubles rankings at No. 48. The pair currently plays at No. 1 where they own a 6-2 record.
Last season, Vanderbilt upset then-No. 23 Mississippi State in Starkville by a score of 4-2, for the squad’s fourth top 25 win. VU’s four points came from a doubles clinch and singles victories on courts three through five.
Talking Tigers:
Saturday’s 12 pm match against Auburn will be a bit of a homecoming as the Tigers’ head coach, Bobby Reynolds, and assistant coach, Ryan Lipman, are Vanderbilt alums. The competition will be the first match against the Commodores for either coach.
The Tigers are 6-6 overall with a 1-1 league record, having defeated Alabama 6-1. Auburn has one ranked doubles team, which sits in the top 10. Maxime Hinnisdaels and Conner Huertas are ranked No. 9 and have won five of their last six completed matches on court one. Individually, Hinnisdaels is ranked No. 64 in the latest singles poll.
VU edged Auburn 4-3 last season with Daniel Valent securing the victory in three sets on court one.
Bird Watching:
The Redbirds are 6-10 on the season and most recently split a double header against The Citadel and College of Charleston last weekend. Illinois State has faced one SEC opponent this season, falling to Arkansas 6-1 in January.
Saturday’s meeting will be the first contest between the Commodores and Redbirds since the 1988-89 season. VU is 2-0 against Illinois State, earning a sweep in ’89 and an 8-1 victory during the 1960-61 season.
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