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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Men's Tennis Ready For NCAA Regional
5/10/2001 | Men's Tennis
May 10, 2001
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss mens' tennis team welcomes Southern California, Virginia and Jackson State to Oxford and the University of Mississippi campus this weekend, as they host the first and second rounds of the 2001 NCAA Men's Tennis Division I Championships at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The action begins Saturday with Jackson State, the fourth seed, taking on top-seeded Ole Miss at Noon, followed by second seeded Southern Cal versus third seeded Virginia at 3:00 p.m. The winners will play at Noon on Sunday for the right to advance to the "Sweet Sixteen" in Athens, Ga.
"We have an extremely competitive regional with Jackson State, undefeated winners of the SWAC, three-time NCAA Champions Southern Cal, and Virginia, who features the No. 1 ranked doubles team in college tennis. The Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center is one of the nation's finest, and we are ready to showcase some excellent tennis.
"This is a big weekend with graduation, the UM/MSU baseball series and our NCAA Regional. Our team worked hard all spring and has done a good job preparing for the NCAAs through exam week. We are looking forward to playing in front of a large home crowd and hopefully advancing to the "Sweet Sixteen" in Athens, Ga."
Ole Miss comes into the NCAA Championships ranked No. 9 in the nation. The Rebels had three players named to the All-SEC team, Alex Hartman, James Shortall and Kristofer Stahlberg. Hartman is ranked No. 10 in the nation in singles. Shortall comes into the NCAAs with an 18-4 dual match record and has won seven in a row at No. 2 singles. Stahlberg owns an impressive 19-2 dual match record and is undefeated at No.3 singles.
Jackson State earned its first ever bid to the NCAA Championships with a regular season record of 14-2. They finished 12-0 in the SWAC to earn the title. The Tigers are led by seniors Richard Henry and Brian Peter, who are a combined 27-5 in singles. Ole Miss and Jackson State last met on Jan. 21, 1998 in Oxford, with the Rebels taking a 7-0 win.
The second match of the day will feature 1991, `93 and `94 NCAA Champions Southern Cal, ranked No. 24 in the nation, against 38th-ranked Virginia. The Trojans, 13-8 on the year, are led by 2001 PAC-10 singles champion Ryan Moore. Virginia comes into the tournament with a 14-7 overall record. The Cavaliers are led by two-time All-American Brian Vahaly, who has won 35 matches heading into the NCAA Championships, and the nation's No. 1 doubles duo of Vahaly and Huntley Montgomery.
Tickets for the regional are $5 per match or $10 for a weekend pass. They can be purchased by calling the ticket office at (662) 915-7167 or 1-888-732-8587. Tickets will also be sold at the gate in front of the tennis center on the day of the matches.