The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Netters To Host Arch-Rival Mississippi State Saturday
4/7/2004 | Men's Tennis
April 7, 2004
The No. 6 nationally-ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team can clinch at least a share of the SEC Western Division Championship this weekend as they host 32nd-ranked Mississippi State Saturday at 1 p.m., at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The Rebels (16-3, 7-2) are looking to snap a two-match skid, after dropping consecutive matches on the road against South Carolina and Florida. Ole Miss holds a one match lead over LSU in the SEC West and is tied for first in the overall standings with Georgia.
"This is a big match for us," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "The guys understand the importance of it in that we can still accomplish our goal of winning the West and the overall title. We are focusing in practice on improving our doubles. It will be a big weekend with baseball hosting Auburn, and we want to encourage all fans to come out and help us beat the Bulldogs before going to the baseball game."
Junior All-American Catalin Gard, who remained at No. 4 in this week's national singles rankings, leads the team with a 16-3 record at No. 1 singles. He has won 12 of his last 13 and is 8-1 in the SEC. Senior Claes Lindholm, who moved up to No. 26 in singles, owns a 16-2 dual match record.
Mississippi State comes into Saturday's affair at 7-9 overall and 2-6 in the SEC. They have dropped six straight, including a 6-1 loss at Florida and a 5-2 loss at South Carolina last weekend. The Bulldogs are led by junior Romain Ambert, who is ranked No. 22 in the nation. The two-time, All-American Ambert returned to the lineup last weekend, after missing four matches from an ankle injury. Ambert is 18-13 overall and 3-9 at No. 1 singles. Luiz Carvalho is 7-3 at No. 3 singles and Florent Girod owns a 7-3 record at No. 5 singles.
The Rebels have claimed 12 in a row over State, including a 4-0 win in the seventh annual Mississippi Cup on Jan. 29 of this year. The streak dates back to the 1999 regular season meeting. Ole Miss leads the overall series 30-22. Ole Miss downed the Bulldogs 7-0 last year in Starkville. The last time the two teams met in Oxford (2002), Ole Miss won 5-1.
