OXFORD, Miss. The Ole Miss men’s tennis team will be among the top teams in the nation vying for the ITA National Team Indoor title Feb. 15-18 in Seattle, Wash. The Rebels, seeded No. 5, will take on the No. 12 seed, North Carolina, in the first round Friday at 10 a.m. CT at the Seattle Tennis Club.
“We are excited to be participating in this event for the 15th consecutive year,” head coach Billy Chadwick said. “This tournament features the best teams in the nation, and the guys are looking forward to playing well.”
The Rebels (4-1) are coming off a 4-0 win against Mississippi State last Thursday to win their ninth straight Mississippi Cup. They are led by senior Erling Tveit, who is expected to play this weekend, after missing the last two matches with a pulled abdominal muscle.
“Erling will be ready to go,” Chadwick said. “We’ve been bringing him along slowly, but he’s fine.”
North Carolina comes into the tournament with a 4-2 record. Their two losses are to No. 23 Rice (4-3) and No. 3 Ohio State (4-2). The Tar Heels are led by Benjamin Carlotti and Stefan Hardy. Their top doubles team of Taylor Fogleman and Chris Kearney is ranked No. 3 in the nation with a 4-2 record at No. 1 doubles.
“North Carolina is a very solid team, who ended last year ranked No. 10 nationally. They have a lot of experience, so we know it will be a tough match. We feel like with playing Ohio State and then going on the road and facing two Top 25 teams, we are battle-tested.”
The Rebels are the only SEC team to have qualified for the National Team Indoor 15 straight years and have the second longest consecutive appearance streak in the nation behind perennial national power UCLA. Ole Miss reached the semifinals of this event in 1996, 1997, 2004 and 2005.
To follow the Rebels throughout the tournament, go to www.OleMissSports.com and click on the link to the tournament website in the upcoming events box. Live updates will be available for all matches and live video will be available for matches at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR DRAW
(1) Virginia vs. (16) Penn State, 1 p.m. Nordstrom
(8) UCLA vs. (9) Notre Dame, 1 p.m. Seattle Tennis Club
(4) Baylor vs. (13) Oklahoma State, 10 a.m. Nordstrom
(5) Mississippi vs. (12) North Carolina, 10 a.m. Seattle Tennis Club
(14) Boise State vs. (3) Ohio State, 4:30 p.m. Nordstrom
(11) Illinois vs. (6) Southern California, 4:30 p.m. Seattle Tennis Club
(10) Alabama vs. (7) Texas, 7:30 p.m. Seattle Tennis Club
(15) Washington vs. (2) Georgia, 7:30 p.m. Nordstrom
All times Central
