VU, MSU and Ole Miss each have a player ranked in the top 20 in singles.
Vanderbilt University Team Page
NASHVILLE – No. 23 Vanderbilt wraps up its four-match road trip with matches at No. 13 Mississippi State on Friday at 2 p.m. and No. 4 Ole Miss on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Last Time Out
Vanderbilt (11-4, 2-1) ran into a hungry 14th-ranked Texas A&M squad Friday night, as the Commodores saw their six-match win streak come to an end, 5-2, at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Texas A&M had Vanderbilt on its heels right from the get-go, as the Aggies won the doubles point convincingly at the Nos. 1 and 2 positions. The 15th-ranked duo of Junior Ore and Jackson Withrow defeated Ryan Lipman and Marc van der Merwe, 8-3 in the No. 1 position. At No. 2, Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant took down Gonzales Austin and Suresh Eswaran, 8-2. In singles, Texas A&M proceeded to win four of the six matches. The Commodores’ two points came from the two players who own double-digit win streaks. Lipman won his 11th-straight match to improve his dual record to 13-1 and this season. The redshirt junior defeated Ore in three sets, 2-6, 7-5, 10-6. Kris Yee won his team-high 13th-consecutive match after defeating Jordan Szabo in a tough battle at No. 5, 7-5, 7-6(4).
Vanderbilt Notables
Ryan Lipman leads Vanderbilt with 23 wins this season and has won his last 11 matches in singles play.
Lipman is 2-1 this season versus ranked players and 13-1 in dual play.
Kris Yee ranks second on the team with 19 wins on the season, while also having won his last 13 singles matches.
Yee also leads the team with a 14-1 record in dual play this season.
Lipman and Austin are ranked Nos. 19 and 54 in the ITA Singles Rankings.
Rhys Johnson and Jeff Offerdahl (7-2) are tied for the team lead with seven wins in doubles with Gonzales Austin and Suresh Eswaran (7-4).
About No. 13 Mississippi State (12-4, 2-2)
The No. 13 Mississippi State Bulldogs dropped two heartbreaking matches to top 10 opponents this past weekend, as they opened SEC home play against No. 10 Tennessee and No. 7 Georgia. The Bulldogs fell to Georgia, 4-1 and Tennessee, 4-2. Romain Bogaerts and Malte Stropp represent the Bulldogs in the ITA Singles Rankings at Nos. 18 and 59, respectively. Stropp and Jordan Angus are the 14th ranked doubles team.
About No. 4 Ole Miss (10-2, 4-0)
Ole Miss won both its matches last weekend, defeating No. 7 Georgia, 4-3 and No. 10 Tennessee, 4-2 to go to 4-0 in the SEC for the first time since 2009. The Rebels improved to 10-2 overall and have won seven in a row. Jonas Lutjen led the cause, going 3-1 in singles and doubles. Johan Backstrom and Stefan Lindmark also finished the weekend 3-1, including 2-0 at No. 2 doubles. Four Rebels rank in the latest ITA Singles Rankings led by Lutjen at No. 13 and Nik Scholtz at No. 14. William Kallberg comes in at No. 69, followed by Lindmark at No. 99. Lutjen and Scholtz are the sixth-ranked doubles team, while Lindmark and Backstrom rank 40th.
Live Scoring
Fans can follow the action with live scoring available here for the Mississippi State match and here for the Ole Miss match. Also be sure to follow the Commodores on Twitter at @VandyMensTennis.
Up Next
Vanderbilt returns home for a match against Georgia next Friday, March 22, at 2 p.m. before a road match at Tennessee Sunday, March 24, at 1 p.m.