Jan. 7, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt’s men’s tennis team earned its highest preseason ranking since 2005 when the Commodores were tabbed No. 27 in the preseason poll released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Wednesday.
The ranking comes on the heels of a season, where Vanderbilt advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and earned a final ranking of No. 26 — its best since 2004.
The preseason ranking is also the highest during Ian Duvenhage’s four-year tenure at Vanderbilt. Last season, Vanderbilt began the year ranked No. 33. The program was ranked No. 63 before the 2007 season and No. 38 in 2006, Duvenhage’s first season.
The Southeastern Conference once again showed how strong of a league it is with all 12 of its programs ranked in the top 56. Eight of the teams are ranked in the top 30, led by No. 3 Georgia, the defending NCAA champions.
Individually, Vanderbilt does not have a player nationally ranked in singles competition, but its doubles tandem of sophomores Adam Baker and Alex Zotov is ranked No. 32 in the nation and No. 3 in the Southeast Region.
Sophomore Bryant Salcedo is ranked No. 29 in singles in the Southeast Region.
The Commodores open their 2009 season Jan. 31 at the ITA National Indoor Championships in Boise, Idaho. Vanderbilt will play No. 29 Auburn at noon that day and will then face No. 12 Stanford and No. 37 Boise State on Feb. 1.
