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No. 22 VU Men’s Tennis Defeats No. 58 MTSU, 4-3 4/8/2004
No. 22 VU Men’s Tennis Defeats No. 58 MTSU, 4-3 NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The 22nd-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team defeated 58th-ranked Middle Tennessee State, 4-3, at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center Wednesday. The Commodores won the match’s first four points to secure the victory before losing three straight singles matches. Vanderbilt took the doubles point with strong performances by its top two teams. Senior Chad Harris and junior Scott Brown, ranked No. 46 by the ITA, defeated No. 49 Brandon Allen and Kai Schledom of MTSU, 8-4, to clinch the point for the Commodores. Seniors Zach Dailey and Lew Smith already had won at second doubles, defeating Blue Raiders Kirk Jackson and Trevor Short, 8-4. The Commodores took four first sets in singles play to keep the pressure on MTSU. VU freshman Nathan Sachs gave Vanderbilt its second point of the day with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Anant Sitaram at sixth singles. The remaining five courts would all split their first two sets. The two teams waited out a pair of rain delays before moving the match indoors at the Currey Tennis Center. Once inside, the Commodores were able to close out the non-conference win. At fifth singles, Smith defeated MTSU’s Aidan Fitzgerald, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5. Vanderbilt clinched the match at third singles when junior Matt Lockin defeated Schledom, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, for his fifth consecutive singles win. With the match decided, Middle Tennessee would rattle off a trio of three-set singles victories to make the Vanderbilt’s winning margin only 4-3. The Commodores (13-8, 5-4 Southeastern Conference) will return to action this weekend, playing their final road match of the season at SEC-rival Kentucky on Saturday, April 10, at Noon CT, before returning to the Currey Tennis Center for a match against Tulane on Sunday, April 11, at 1 p.m. CT. No. 22 Vanderbilt def. No. 58 Middle Tennessee State, 4-3 |
