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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Netters Earn 12th Straight National Team Indoor Invite
12/15/2004 | Men's Tennis
Dec. 15, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss men's tennis team earned its 12th consecutive invitation to the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor, as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced the 16-team field for the 2005 championship this week. The University of Illinois will serve as host for the tournament, Feb. 17-20, at the Midtown Tennis Club in Chicago, Ill.
The field includes the nation's top teams: Baylor, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Harvard, host Illinois, Kentucky, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Southern California, Stanford, UCLA and Virginia.
The Rebels are the only SEC team to have qualified for the National Team Indoor 12 straight years and have the fourth longest consecutive appearance streak in the nation behind perennial national powers Stanford, UCLA and Duke.
"We are excited to be selected as one of the top 16 teams in the country to participate in the National Team Indoor," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "This tournament is second only to the NCAA Team Championships, and this will be the first time for the tournament to be held in Chicago."
Ole Miss has reached the quarterfinals of this prestigious event seven of the last 10 years and the final four three times. Last year, the Rebels reached the semifinals, defeating the host team, Washington, in the first round, and 2004 NCAA Champion Baylor, in the quarterfinals, before losing a tough match to UCLA in the semis. The Rebels also advanced to the semifinals in 1996 and 1997.
The Rebels, who captured the overall SEC Championship in 2004 as well as their third straight SEC West title, ended the season ranked No. 5, marking the 10th time in the last 11 years for them to be among the nation's top 10. The new team rankings come out Jan. 11.
The 2005 team will be led by the nation's No. 1 ranked player and last year's SEC Player of the Year, Catalin Gard. Gard posted a 7-1 record in the fall and captured the year's first national championship, the ICY Hot/ITA All-American Championships.
Ole Miss opens the 2005 season Jan. 13-17 at the SEC Indoor Championships in New Orleans. The Rebels first dual match of the season will be Jan. 28 when they host New Orleans at 2 p.m.