The University of Mississippi Athletics
Men's Tennis To Host Kentucky Sunday
3/5/2005 | Men's Tennis
March 5, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss men's tennis team, ranked No. 5 in the nation, looks to go 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference as they welcome No. 12 Kentucky to the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center Sunday for a 1 p.m. match.
The Rebels (9-1) downed Vanderbilt 7-0 Friday to win their 19th straight regular season home match dating back to April 6, 2003. They have won 99 of their last 109 matches. Ole Miss won the doubles point against Vanderbilt and never let up, taking all six singles matches to avenge last year's 4-0 loss to the Commodores in the NCAA Regional final.
Kentucky comes into the match with a 7-4 overall record, 0-1 in conference. They lost to Mississippi State 5-2 on Friday. The Wildcats are led by the nation's No. 3 player, Jesse Witten, who brings a 22-4 overall record.
"Kentucky is coming off a disappointing loss at Mississippi State, but they are a very good team," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "We had an outstanding win on Friday against Vanderbilt, and a great crowd. We encourage all fans in the area Sunday to come out and support the Rebels. Those who do will witness two of the premier players in college tennis."
The No. 1 match will be a dandy as Ole Miss' Catalin Gard, ranked No. 4 in the nation, faces off against Witten. Gard defeated Witten three times last year, including in the final regular season match, which gave the All-American SEC Player of the Year honors.
Ole Miss has won four in a row over Kentucky. The Rebels defeated the Wildcats 5-2 last year in Lexington to capture the SEC Championship, and then a week later, took them out 4-1 to advance to the final of the SEC Tournament.
Fans who can't make it to the match can follow all the action with live scoring on the Ole Miss website, www.olemisssports.com.
