NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont University men's tennis opens its 2021 season at Vanderbilt at the Currey Tennis Center.
The Bruins feature six returning letterwinners from the 2020 season and four newcomers and were predicted to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference. Belmont is looking for its first conference tournament title since 2006 and first since joining the OVC. The Bruins eye its third regular season title in the last four years.
"We are excited to finally be back on the court," Director of Tennis Mauricio Antun said. "It's been a long time coming and our guys are looking forward to starting the season against a Power 5 school. They have been working really hard and I can't wait to see them in action this weekend. It's a fun group of guys that I enjoy getting to work with every day."
Vanderbilt finished with a 7-6 overall record in 2020, advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2019. This will be the third consecutive season where the Bruins have faced the Commodores, with Vanderbilt winning all three of those matches.
Seniors Marko Ilic and Taisei Miyamoto were ranked in the top 10 in the OVC Preseason Player Rankings, with Ilic coming in at No. 1 and Miyamoto coming in at No. 6. A two-time All-OVC First Team player, Ilic finished with a 12-5 overall record with an 11-2 dual record in 2020, ranking as high as eighth with Hendrik Inno in the ITA men's doubles rankings.
Joining Belmont following a stint at ETSU, Miyamoto posted a 16-15 record in singles, including an 11-3 mark last season. Competing mainly at positions four and five, Miyamoto won 12 of his 13 singles matches in the spring while posting a 16-8 doubles record with partner Felix Rauch.
First serve takes place is set for noon and live scoring and live video will be available courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics.
