The University of Mississippi Athletics
Men's Tennis To Host Big SEC Weekend
4/5/2006 | Men's Tennis
April 5, 2006
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss men's tennis team, ranked No. 10 in this week's Fila National Rankings, will put its 30-match regular season home win streak on the line this weekend with two huge matches at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. The Rebels kick off Red/Blue Weekend Friday at 2 p.m., against Tennessee and then welcome No. 1-ranked Georgia Sunday at 1 p.m.
Fans not able to make it to Friday's match can watch live video on the internet courtesy of OleMissSports.tv. To access the video, go to www.olemisssports.com and click on the link below the tennis story.
Coming off a split of last weekend's top-20 matches, the Rebels are currently tied for second overall in the SEC standings and tied for first in the SEC Western Division.
"We are excited to be part of the Red/Blue festivities once again and happy to be playing at home with two very important matches this weekend," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "We encourage the fans to come out and support the team as we try to maintain our position in the SEC race. Tennessee has a very solid team, and Georgia's ranking speaks for itself."
Coach Chadwick will be honored prior to the first serve of Friday's match for winning his 500th career victory this season. Chadwick recorded win No. 500 in a 7-0 shutout of Memphis on March 22. The total includes 107 wins as the head women's coach at Ole Miss from 1979-1986. He has 396 wins with the Rebels.
Tennessee comes into the weekend at 8-8 overall, 2-6 in the SEC. They are coming off consecutive home losses to Vanderbilt (4-3) and Kentucky (5-2) last weekend. The Volunteers are led by sophomore Bobby Cameron, who owns an 8-8 record at No.1 singles. Tennessee's No. 1 doubles team of Ben Rogers and Adam Hubble is ranked No. 29 with an 8-5 record.
The first 100 fans to the Tennessee match will receive a free Rebel tennis t-shirt courtesy of the Ink Spot of Oxford.
Ole Miss has won four of the last five meetings and is 11-4 since 1994 against the Volunteers. The two split last year's series, with the Rebels taking a 4-3 win in Knoxville during the regular season and Tennessee defeating Ole Miss 4-3 in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.
Georgia comes in undefeated at 19-0 and 8-0 in the SEC. The Bulldogs are led by No. 2 ranked John Isner, who owns a 33-2 overall record, 10-0 at No. 1 singles. He is 8-0 in the SEC. Georgia has been near perfect at the top two positions, as Isner and Luis Flores, ranked No. 23, combine for a 32-2 record at Nos. 1 and 2 singles. Last year's NCAA Doubles Champions, Isner and Antonio Ruiz are ranked No. 12 with an 11-3 record at No.1 doubles.
The two teams split last year's meetings with Georgia winning 5-2 in Athens during the regular season. Ole Miss got revenge in the NCAA Championships, beating the Bulldogs 4-2 to advance to the Final Four for the fourth time.
The first 100 fans to Sunday's match will receive a sun visor compliments of Coca-Cola of Sardis.
