The University of Mississippi Athletics
Men's Tennis To Host Middle Tennessee Saturday
2/24/2005 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 24, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss men's tennis team, who moved up to No. 5 in the nation this week, will host 45th-ranked Middle Tennessee Saturday at Noon at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The Rebels enter the match with a 6-1 record and are coming off a semifinal showing at the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor last weekend in Chicago. Ole Miss defeated Southern Cal and Florida to reach the semifinals for the second consecutive year and the fourth time overall.
The reigning SEC Player of the Week, senior Catalin Gard leads the team with a 14-3 overall record, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Gard, ranked No. 4 in the nation, went 4-2 last week in singles and doubles, including a win over Florida's Hamid Mirzadeh to avenge his only conference loss last year. He became the fourth Rebel to be named the SEC Player of the Week.
Middle Tennessee comes into the match with an 8-1 record. They are coming off a 6-1 win over Southern Illinois last Friday. Prior to that, the Blue Raiders edged 62nd-ranked Virginia Tech, 4-3. Middle Tennessee has won six straight since dropping a 4-2 match at then No. 48 Louisville. The Blue Raiders are led by 86th-ranked Andreas Silejstrom, who owns a 17-6 overall record, 5-2 at No. 1 singles. Middle Tennessee boasts two teams in the doubles rankings with Silejstrom and Marco Born ranked No. 30, and Kai Schledorn and Brandon Allan ranked No. 41. The two teams have combined for an 8-1 record at the No. 1 position.
"Middle Tennessee traditionally has a strong team, and this year is no different," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "They have wins over Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, so we know it will be a tough match. We are coming off a great showing at the National Team Indoor, and would like to encourage the fans to come out and support us as we kick off a four-match homestand. This is a fun team to watch."
Ole Miss leads the overall series with Middle Tennessee 12-1. The Rebels defeated Middle Tennessee 5-2 last year in Oxford. The two teams have squared off every year since 1999, including in the second round of the NCAA Championships in 2002. Ole Miss won that meeting, 4-1, to advance to the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen."
Following Saturday's match, the Rebels will host Memphis Tuesday, March 1, before beginning defense of their SEC Championship next weekend against Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
