Men's Tennis Announces Challenging Schedule

OXFORD, Miss. Ole Miss men's tennis head coach Billy Chadwick announced a challenging non-conference schedule for 2008, in addition to the always tough Southeastern Conference slate.

Highlighting the competitive non-conference schedule is a home showdown with Ohio State, who finished No. 3 in the nation last year.  The Buckeyes and Rebels will square off Jan. 26 at the Gillom Sports Center.

The Rebels won their sixth consecutive SEC West title in 2007, finished No. 2 overall in the SEC standings, advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, and ended the year ranked No. 7 in the nation. With six of the top seven from last year returning, the team is expected to contend for the SEC and national championship again.

The Rebels will open the fall season in New Orleans, La., Sept. 8 playing in the qualifying tournament for the USTA Challenger.  All tournaments in the fall are individual, with results counting toward NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships.  Results are also factored into the first national team ranking. 

Ole Miss will continue the fall schedule Sept. 21-23 at the always tough Baylor Invitational.  Following that event, members of the team will participate in the first national championship tournament of the year, the Polo Ralph Lauren/ITA All-American Championships, which runs Sept. 29-Oct. 7 in Tulsa, Okla.  The ITA Southeast Regional Championships will once again take place in Lexington, Ky., Oct. 19-21. 

Rounding out the fall, the Rebels will be in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Oct. 26-28 for the Alabama Invitational.  The second national championship tournament (ITA National Indoors) of the year takes place Nov. 1-4 in Columbus, Ohio. 

Ole Miss kicks off the spring season Jan. 18-21 with the SEC Indoor Championships in New Orleans, La.    The Rebels have enjoyed huge success at the SEC Indoor Championships, boasting a singles or doubles finalist nine consecutive years from 1993-2001, including five SEC Champions.

Following the SEC Indoor, the Rebels will host their first of 10 homes matches with Arkansas-Little Rock coming to town on Jan. 24. 

After opening up at home with UALR and Ohio State, Ole Miss hits the road to face a pair of Top 25 teams from a year ago in Oklahoma State and Tulsa.  OSU ended the 2007 season at No. 11 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.  Tulsa, who features one of the top 10 players in the country, finished No. 22 in the final national rankings.

Following their first road trip of the season, the Rebels will take to the courts in Jackson, Miss., Feb. 7, for the annual Mississippi Cup against Mississippi State.  Ole Miss has won eight straight Mississippi Cups and 19 in a row in the overall series.

With the announcement of the preseason team rankings in November, the Rebels should be in great position to earn their 15th straight invitation to the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Feb. 15-18, 2008.  The prestigious tournament will be held in Seattle, Wash.   The Rebels, who own the third-longest consecutive appearance streak in the nation behind perennial national powers UCLA and Duke, have reached the semifinals four times, most recently in 2005.

After being away from Oxford for most of February, the Rebels return home to host Memphis on Feb. 27 before beginning conference play. 

The SEC gets off to a fast start with the Rebels having to go on the road to face Tennessee and 2007 NCAA Champion Georgia Feb. 29 and March 2, respectively.

“The SEC changed the schedule from the way the teams have been doing it for the last five years,” Chadwick noted.  “As a result, we have to go on the road to Tennessee and Georgia again.”

The conference home opener will pit the Rebels against Auburn (March 7) and Alabama (March 9).   Following spring break, the Rebels will host Troy (March 19) in their final non-conference match before welcoming Florida (March 21) to the tennis center for the second year in a row.  Ole Miss came away with a hard-fought 4-2 win in last year’s meeting with the Gators.        

Trips to South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Kentucky conclude the road schedule, before the Rebels finish out the regular season at home with Arkansas (April 4), LSU (April 6) and Mississippi State (April 12).                     

The SEC Tournament will be held April 17-20 in Fayetteville, Ark.  The first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships will be May 10-11 at various sites across the country.  The 2008 season will mark the third year in a row that the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Championships will be played at the same site.  This year’s championships return to Tulsa, Okla., site of the 2004 NCAA Men’s Championships.

Leading the way for the Rebels will be returning All-Americans Erling Tveit and Robbye Poole.  Bram ten Berge, who earned All-SEC honors while playing No. 3 singles for the Rebels in 2006, returns after redshirting in 2007.  Rounding out the deep and talented lineup is All-SEC selections Jonas Berg and Kalle Norberg, Matthias Wellermann, Jakob Klaeson and Chris Rea.

FALL SCHEDULE

DATE TOURNAMENT/OPPONENT LOCATION

Sept. 8-16 USTA Challenger New Orleans, La.

Sept. 21-23             Baylor Invitational                     Waco, Texas

Sept. 24-30 USTA Futures Irvine, Calif.

Sept. 29-Oct. 7         ITA All-American Championships          Tulsa, Okla.

Oct. 19-21              Southeast Regionals                     Lexington, Ky.

Oct. 26-28              Alabama Invitational                    Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Nov. 1-4                ITA National Indoor                     Columbus, Ohio

SPRING SCHEDULE

Jan. 18-21              SEC Indoor Championships                New Orleans, La.

Jan. 24                 UALR                                    OXFORD

Jan. 26                 OHIO STATE                              OXFORD

Feb. 2                  vs. Oklahoma State                      Tulsa, Okla.

Feb. 3                  at Tulsa                                Tulsa, Okla.

Feb. 7                  vs. Mississippi State                   Jackson, Miss.

                           (Mississippi Cup)

Feb. 15-18              USTA/ITA National Team Indoor           Seattle, Wash.

Feb. 27                 MEMPHIS                                 OXFORD

Feb. 29                 at Tennessee*                           Knoxville, Tenn.

Mar. 2                  at Georgia*                             Athens, Ga.

Mar. 7                  AUBURN*                                 OXFORD

Mar. 9                  ALABAMA*                                OXFORD

Mar. 14                 at West Florida                         Pensacola, Fla.

Mar. 19                 TROY                                    OXFORD

Mar. 21                 FLORIDA*                                OXFORD

Mar. 23                 at South Carolina*                      Columbia, S.C.

Mar. 28                 at Vanderbilt*                          Nashville, Tenn.

Mar. 30                 at Kentucky*                            Lexington, Ky.

Apr. 4                  ARKANSAS*                               OXFORD

Apr. 6                  LSU*                                    OXFORD

Apr. 12                 MISSISSIPPI STATE*                      OXFORD            

Apr. 17-20              SEC Championship                        Fayetteville, Ark.

May 10-11               NCAA First and Second Rounds            TBA

May 17-20 NCAA Finals Tulsa, Okla.

May 21-26 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships Tulsa, Okla.

* SEC Match

Home Matches in BOLD

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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