The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Netters to Host Alabama
6/21/1999 | Men's Tennis
March 26, 1998
OXFORD, Miss. -- The No. 6 nationally-ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team will be looking to end a two-match losing skid this weekend, when they host 16th-ranked Alabama at 1:00 p.m., at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The Rebels (12-4, 3-2) are coming off a disappointing 5-2 loss to No. 5 LSU on Wednesday. It was their second straight loss after falling to Florida 4-3 last Saturday. LSU won the doubles point and then took four of the six singles for the win.
"LSU showed why they are at the top of the conference," Head Coach Billy Chadwick said. "That is a team that will challenge for the national championship. I'm glad we don't have to go on the road to play our next match. We're taking on a tough Alabama team Saturday. We hope to finish strong with our last four home matches. We hope to take every match."
Sebastien Lami continued his stellar play on Wednesday downing LSU's Pedro Escudero 6-3, 6-2 to win his ninth match in the last 10. He is 12-4 in dual matches. Vikrant Chada remained undefeated at No. 4 singles and won his ninth match in 10 tries.
At No. 1 singles, Sebastien DeChaunac will look to end a two-match losing streak. It was DeChaunac's first consecutive SEC loss since dropping his first two SEC matches his freshman year. Since then, DeChaunac had only lost once in conference play until this week.
Alabama comes into Saturday's match with a 9-6 overall record, 1-4 in the SEC. They are coming off a 5-2 loss at Mississippi State on Wednesday. The Crimson Tide's lone win in SEC competition was against Arkansas. The Crimson Tide are led by ninth-ranked Francisco Rodriguez and 96th-ranked Chris Lopez.
The Rebels have won four in a row over Alabama and six of the last seven meetings. They defeated Alabama 4-0 last year in Tuscaloosa. The last time the two teams met in Oxford, Ole Miss won 4-3.
