Rebel Netters Earn 13th Straight National Team Indoor Invite

The Ole Miss men's tennis team earned its 13th consecutive invitation to the prestigious USTA/ITA National Team Indoor, as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced the 16-team field for the 2006 championship Wednesday. The event will take place February 17-20 at the University of Washington's Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle.

Returning to the championships are defending champ Baylor, as well as finalist Virginia, semifinalist Ole Miss and 2005 NCAA Champion UCLA. Rounding out the field are: Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, LSU, Pennsylvania, Pepperdine, South Carolina and host Washington. Two more teams will be determined the weekend of Jan. 21-22 when the ITA Central and Mountain regions have their play-in tournaments.

The National Team Indoor is regarded as the second best tournament in the nation behind the NCAA Championships. The Rebels are the only SEC team to have qualified for the National Team Indoor 13 straight years and have the third longest consecutive appearance streak in the nation behind perennial national powers UCLA and Duke.

"We are excited to be one of the top 16 teams in the nation selected to participate in the National Team Indoor," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "This tournament has become a premier collegiate event, and we are looking forward to returning to Seattle, where two years ago we reached the Final Four."

Ole Miss has reached the semifinals of this event two years in a row and four times overall. Last year, the Rebels defeated Southern Cal and Florida on their way to the semifinals. The Rebels also advanced to the semifinals in 1996 and 1997.

Last year, the Rebels captured their second consecutive overall SEC Championship as well as their fourth straight SEC West title. They advanced to the NCAA Final Four and ended the year ranked No. 3 in the nation, marking the sixth time in the last 10 years for them to finish the year among the top five nationally.

The Rebels return six of the top seven from last year's championship team, in addition to adding Mississippi standout Chris Rea. The team will be led by sophomore Erling Tveit, who earned All-SEC honors as a freshman. Tveit finished this fall as the No. 2 ranked player in the Southeast Region (all of the South and Florida). The latest individual national rankings as well as the preseason team rankings will come out in January.

The Rebels open the 2006 season Jan. 20-23 at the SEC Indoor Championships. Their first dual match will be Jan. 27 when they host Louisville.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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