The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Netters No. 3 Seed Overall In NCAA Championships
5/4/2005 | Men's Tennis
May 4, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - The SEC Champion Ole Miss men's tennis team earned the No. 3 seed overall in the 2005 NCAA Tennis Championships and will host one of the 16 regionals May 14-15 at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The Rebels will face Jacksonville State in the first round Saturday May 14 at 2 p.m. Middle Tennessee and Auburn will start the day at 11 a.m. The final will be played Sunday at 1 p.m., with the winner advancing to the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" in College Station, Texas, May 21-24.
The No. 3 seed marks the highest seed for the Rebels since the 1997 season when they went in as the No. 2 seed.
"We are very excited to be the No. 3 seed," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "It's a real tribute to this team to go into the NCAA Championships seeded third. It should give the guys some direction as to how close they are to really doing something big this year. It will serve to motivate them. I've been impressed with how hard the guys have been working this week.
"We would like to encourage everyone to come out and support us. The reason that we are the No. 3 seed is that we've had the best support this season that we've ever had. It does make a difference. If we can get the crowd out, and if they can be like they were during the regular season, than we can advance to College Station."
Ole Miss (21-3) is making its 12th consecutive NCAA appearance and 14th overall. It also marks the sixth time in seven years for the Rebels to host a regional. The Rebels have advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" nine times.
The Rebels' winning the SEC Championship for the second straight year was a significant accomplishment considering the SEC led all conferences with 10 schools earning bids to the NCAA Tournament. Six of the SEC's 10 teams were announced as host sites. Ole Miss will be joined as a host site by Florida, Georgia, LSU, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Ole Miss is led by senior All-American Catalin Gard, who is ranked No. 4 in the nation with a 20-3 record at No. 1 singles. Freshman Erling Tveit, ranked No. 110 in the country, finished his first regular season with the Rebels at 17-2 in dual matches, 9-2 in the SEC at No. 3 singles. He and Rebel senior Karim Alayli joined Gard on the All-SEC team.
"The fact that we got a No. 3 seed is recognition for the season that we had," freshman Bram ten Berge said. "We worked hard this year and we beat a lot of good teams. We are thrilled to be the No. 3 seed. It's not a bad draw, if you look at how many good teams are out there. Auburn and Middle Tennessee are both strong teams. They lost to us this season, so they will be fired up. We just have to be at our best. It's a great advantage to be hosting and we want to encourage everyone to pack the tennis center."
Tickets for the regional can be purchased by calling (662)-915-7167 or toll-free 1-888-732-8587. Single day tickets are $7 and a weekend pass is $10. Students and faculty and staff tickets are $3 for a single day or $5 for a weekend pass.
