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The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 15 Rebels Meet Archrival Mississippi State Sunday
4/13/2000 | Men's Tennis
April 13, 2000
OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 15 nationally-ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team will meet arch-rival Mississippi State Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in the final regular season match before the SEC Tournament.
Ole Miss enters the final weekend with a 16-4 overall record, 8-2 in the SEC. The Rebels are coming off a 4-0 win over Arkansas on Wednesday. Freshman Alexander Hartman clinched the match with his 7-6(5), 7-6(5) win over 15th-ranked Oskar Johansson. He leads the team with a 31-13 record and improved his record to 6-0 at No. 1 singles.
"We know that it will be a challenge playing Mississippi State in Starkville, especially on a big weekend like this (Super Bulldog Weekend)," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "But, we will be ready."
Mississippi State, who is ranked No. 23 in the nation, is currently 9-5 overall and 5-4 in the SEC. Their match against Alabama, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was rescheduled for Friday due to inclement weather.
The Bulldogs are led by one of the nation's premier players in 11th-ranked Marco Baron. Baron owns a 9-3 record at No. 1 singles and teams with Charles Sevigny for a 9-3 record at No. 1 doubles. The duo is ranked No. 12 in doubles. At No. 2 singles, Jeremy Bayon is ranked No. 78 with a 9-4 record.
The Rebels have won three straight including a 4-3 win in this year's River Hills Mississippi Cup to take a 23-22 lead in the overall series. Ole Miss won 4-3 in last year's regular season meeting in Oxford and then defeated the Bulldogs 4-2 in the Sweet Sixteen at the NCAA Championships. Seven out of the last 10 matches have come down to the wire with either team winning 4-3.