The Vanderbilt men's tennis team returns home this weekend for a pair of matches against top-5 foes in No. 5 Georgia and No. 4 Tennessee and it could be a golden opportunity to get some serious momentum going with the SEC Tournament on the horizon.
The Commodores face Georgia Friday at 2 p.m. CT and then square off with the Volunteers at the same time Sunday afternoon.
The team recently snapped a 10-match losing streak with a road win over Mississippi State in the middle of a brutal stretch of opponents that has included six teams ranked in the top 20, so a couple more premier opponents won't be a change of pace.
"It was a huge victory for us," said senior Nick Cromydas. "Our schedule this year has to be one of the toughest in the nation. Any road win in the SEC is big for momentum."
Now back at home, Vanderbilt has a chance to win its first match in Nashville since a Feb. 14 win over Middle Tennessee State.
"At Currey we definitely have a home court advantage," Cromydas said. "It's our facility, a place were comfortable with at practice every day. We also get to play in front of some of our loyal fans which is helps give us a boost."
The Commodores currently have a 5-13 record, but looking at their schedule, many of the matches were extremely close to going the other way.
Cromydas says working on marginal points of the game could make the difference for a team loaded with young potential, and he feels it's his responsibility to help the rest of the players grind through a trying part of the season.
"I've talked to the guys a bunch of how once you make the postseason, that slate is wiped clean," he said. "We are going to continue to improve on the little day-to-day things, which should make the difference down the stretch."
