Feb. 1, 2008

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - - The University of Memphis men's tennis team (2-1) will open its 2008 dual season road schedule Sunday at No. 33 Vanderbilt (1-0), beginning at 1 p.m. Both teams played to 4-3 decisions in their last matches, with Memphis falling 4-3 to Southeastern Louisiana, while Vanderbilt upended Michigan State, 4-3, in its spring opener.

A trio of Tigers has already seen an opponent from Vanderbilt earlier this fall, as sophomore Spencer Heflin fell to Vandy's Adam Baker in the consolation draw at the ITA Southeast Regionals, 6-0, 6-2. Baker did not play in the top six singles line-up against Michigan State though, and Heflin is 0-1, having lost his one dual season match at No. 4 singles last weekend.

Amrit Narasimhan has also seen a Commodore opponent already this year, having faced Vijay Paul in the ITA Southeastern Regional. The duo split opening sets 6-3, then Paul eliminated Narasimhan from the draw with a 6-3 third set win. Narasimhan is 2-1 on the spring at No. 1 singles, while Paul played in the ENo. 2 singles spot against Michigan State despite his being nationally-ranked at No. 79 in the latest ITA poll while Ryan Preston played No. 1 despite not being nationally-ranked in the latest poll.

Narasimhan also teamed with Charlie Ramsay at the ITA Regionals, again facing Paul, who was teamed with Baker in the doubles draw. Vandy prevailed in that match-up, 9-8, eliminated the Tiger tandem from the draw just one tournament after Memphis won the doubles title at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships.

Junior Benedikt Fischer and freshman Jordan Smith are Memphis' lone unbeaten singles players so far this spring. Fischer is 3-0 at No. 6 singles, while Smith is 2-0 at No. 4 singles after joining the team this spring. Memphis has not lost a match yet in doubles play, as all three teams are 3-0 through the early part of the season. The team of Narasimhan and Ramsay are 3-0 at No. 1, while the duo of Heflin and Leon Naseman are 3-0 at No. 2 doubles. Fischer and Smith have played all three early season matches at No. 3, carrying a perfect 3-0 record in to Sunday's match-up.

Tiger fans can follow the match on the road through Vanderbilt's live stats at: http://vucommodores.collegesports.com/sports/m-tennis/gameday.html.