March 1, 2007
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt tennis teams will begin conference season on Friday March 2, with the women facing Alabama in Tuscaloosa and the men hosting the Tide in Nashville at 2 p.m.
Both Commodore squads are entering the contests with weekend wins. The 17th-ranked women (6-5) defeated No. 6 Georgia Tech last week and followed with road wins over Brown and Harvard. After upsetting Clemson, the men (6-4) notched a road victory over cross-town rival Middle Tennessee and mid-week match over Furman in Nashville.
The women’s contest in Tuscaloosa will serve as Alabama’s (4-3) first match against a Top 25 team in 2007. The Tide are entering the SEC contest with a weekend 4-3 win over Oklahoma.
With senior Amanda Fish, last season’s No. 1, still struggling with a nagging injury, the Commodores’ top singles slot has been shared by juniors Taka Bertrand (5-6) and Amanda Taylor (9-2) as well as Fish (1-2) in 2007. Taylor recently led the ‘Dores on the road with wins at No. 1 over competitors from Harvard and Brown.
The doubles lineup has remained solid through the team’s last four contests with Taylor/Fish at the top, Bertrand and freshman Catherine Newman at No. 2 and sophomores Courtney Ulery and Liberty Sveke at No. 3. The three tandems have earned four consecutive doubles points.
In Nashville, the Vanderbilt men’s team, who recently jumped back into the ITA’s Top 40 after nearly a year in the lower half of the ranks, will be looking for their third upset this season against No. 26 Alabama (7-1). The Tide is currently riding a five-match win streak, which includes road victories over Princeton and Columbia as well as home wins over Clemson, Furman, and Winthrop.
Since returning to the Vanderbilt lineup in mid-February, junior Ryan Preston is 2-2 at No. 1, providing the extra support for other Commodore starters to thrive, including senior Andy Mack, freshman Vijay Paul, and sophomore Nik Cromydas who are undefeated through the last three singles contests.
Although the squad earned a recent doubles point over Furman on Tuesday, the Commodores are 3-7 for the point so far in 2007. Alabama has clinched the doubles point in all eight contests this season.
The women’s match will begin at 2:30 p.m. in Tuscaloosa, and the men’s contest at 2 p.m. at the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville Friday afternoon.
