The University of Mississippi Athletics
Men's Tennis No. 2 Seed In SEC Tournament
4/15/2002 | Men's Tennis
April 15, 2002
OXFORD, Miss. -
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The No. 4 ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament this weekend hosted by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville Thursday-Sunday. The Rebels will face the winner of the #7Kentucky/#10 Mississippi State match on Friday at 11 a.m. at the Varsity Courts.
Ole Miss, the SEC Western Division Champion, earned a bye in the first round of the SEC Tournament for the ninth straight year, by finishing as the runner-up in the overall standings to Georgia.
The Rebels dominated Mississippi State 5-1 last Saturday to capture the SEC West title. It marked their ninth straight win over the Bulldogs. Freshman Catalin Gard clinched the match for the Rebels. He has clinched three key SEC matches that propelled Ole Miss to the title. Gard has won five in a row and eight of his last nine. Sophomore Claes Lindholm has also won five in a row and 10 of his last 11.
Kentucky comes into the SEC Tournament with a 18-8 overall record, 6-5 in the SEC. They are coming off a 4-1 upset over No. 7 Notre Dame last Saturday. The Wildcats are led by freshman sensation Jesse Witten, who is ranked No. 8 in the nation, and Karim Benmansour, who is ranked No. 59. Ole Miss lost to the Wildcats 5-2 early in the SEC season at Lexington.
Should they meet on Friday, it would be the second year in a row the two have faced each other in the quarterfinals. Ole Miss defeated Kentucky 4-3 in last year's SEC quarterfinals in Lexington.
Mississippi State enters the SEC Tournament with a 10-10 overall record, 3-8 in the SEC. They are led by seventh-ranked Romain Ambert, who is 35-8 on the season. The last time the Rebels faced the Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament, Ole Miss won 4-3 in 2000.
The Rebels have won the SEC Tournament once in the history of the program, defeating Georgia 4-2 to capture the 1997 championship. After their 4-3 win over Kentucky in last year's tournament, the Rebels lost to Georgia 4-1 in the semifinals.
