UF Men Tennis Drops 5-2 Decision At Vanderbilt
Saturday, March 6, 2004 | Men's Tennis
The third-ranked University of Florida men's tennis dropped its SEC opener to No. 22 Vanderbilt on Friday evening in Nashville, 5-2. With the loss, the Gators slipped to 6-3 overall and 0-1 in league play. Vanderbilt improved its record to 7-4 overall as the Commodores were also opening SEC play.
Inclement weather in the Nashville area forced the match to be moved indoors which has been an obstacle for the Gators lately as seven of their last eight losses dating back to last season have come when the match finished indoors.
UF fell behind early as the Gators dropped the doubles point for the fourth time this season (Florida owns a 2-2 record when doing so). Vanderbilt's Scott Brown and Chad Harris defeated Florida's Hamid Mirzadeh and Chris Brandi at the top of the lineup, 8-3. On court three, Janne Holmia and Martin Stiegwardt overcame Nathan Sachs and Lew Smith, 8-5, to force the point to be settled on court two. Florida's Vladimir Obradovic and Trey Johnson, ranked 37th nationally, fell short to Zach Dailey and Greg Sossaman.
Vanderbilt jumped out to a 3-1 lead when No. 64 Matt Lockin defeated UF's Ryan Sherry on court five 6-2, 6-4. On court two, Florida's Holmia (No. 45) picked up a much needed win against Dailey (No. 47), 6-3, 6-4. Going into the match, Holmia had dropped four of his last five dual matches. Vanderbilt's 64th-ranked Matt Lockin put the Commodores to within a point of the match when he outlasted Brandi on court four, 1-6, 6-3, 6-0. Vanderbilt got the win it was looking for on court three where 52nd-ranked Scott Brown defeated Obradovic (No. 46), 7-6 (6), 7-6 (0). Stiegwardt did add a point to the Florida column late when he took a 6-0, 1-6, 10-6 decision over Sossaman.
Florida remains on the road as the Gators finish up the weekend at No. 14 Kentucky on Sunday, March 7. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m. ET.
Florida Men's Tennis at Vanderbilt
Friday, March 05, 2004
Doubles:
1. Brown/Harris (VU) def. Mirzadeh/Brandi(UF), 8-3
2. Dailey/Sossaman (VU) def. No. 37 Obradovic/Johnson (UF), 8-4
3. Holmia/Steigwardt (UF) def. Sachs/Smith (VU), 8-5
Order of Finish: 1,3,2*
Singles:
1. No.24 Chad Harris (VU) def. No. 19 Hamid Mirzadeh (UF), 6-2, 6-4, 5-3(ret)
2. No. 45 Janne Holmia (UF) def. No. 47 Zach Dailey (VU), 6-3, 6-4
3. No. 52 Scott Brown (VU) def. No. 46 Vladimir Obradovic (UF), 7-6(6), 7-6(0)
4. No. 64 Matt Lockin (VU) def. Chris Brandi(UF), 1-6, 6-3, 6-0
5. Lew Smith (VU) def. Ryan Sherry (UF), 6-2, 6-4
6. Matrin Stiegwardt (UF) def. Greg Sossaman (VU), 6-0, 1-6, 10-6 (super-tiebreaker)
Order of finish: 4,2,5,3*,1,6