The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Reacts To NCAA Men's Tennis Decision
4/29/2009 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. In response to not being selected to host the first and second rounds of the 2009 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship, although having earned a overall No. 2 national seed and winning the Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament championships, Ole Miss officials held a conference call Wednesday morning with the NCAA staff members overseeing the selection process for men's tennis.
Representing Ole Miss on the conference call were Senior Associate Athletics Director Lynnette Johnson, Head Coach Billy Chadwick and Athletics Director Pete Boone, who sought out an explanation as to why the decision was made to send Ole Miss to Baton Rouge, La., May 8-9 where they will face Alcorn State in the first round, with LSU and Rice in the other half of the bracket. The finals will be played Saturday, May 9, with the winner advancing to the "Sweet Sixteen" in College Station, Texas.
"Our message to them was that the student-athletes ranked No. 2 in the nation and then are seeded the overall national No. 2 seed that won the SEC regular season and tourney championships, should be rewarded for their hard work and success," Boone said. "There should be a belief that there is flexibility within the selection guidelines and that general common sense should carry the weight of the decision. It didn't in this case. We will work within the NCAA committee structure to change these rules to ensure the top teams in every sport are protected when host locations are chosen. It only makes good sense."
According to the information given to Ole Miss, the ultimate decision was based on specific seeding and travel policies sanctioned for men's and women's tennis. Once the selection committee picks and seeds the 64 teams, they are then placed in pods. The NCAA seeding and travel policy, which is based on regionalization, took effect to help minimize the number of teams that would be required to fly. Baylor, a No. 6 national seed, was also affected by the process and sent to Tulsa.
Ole Miss (24-2) is will be making its 16th consecutive NCAA appearance and 18th overall. The Rebels have advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" 14 times and the NCAA Final Four four times. Ole Miss had hosted an NCAA Regional every year since 1999 except in 2000 when they had to travel to Blacksburg, Va.
This marks the fourth time for the Rebels to be seeded top five in the NCAA Championships, and the highest seed since 1997, when they were also the No. 2 seed. They advanced to the Final Four that year.
The Rebels won the SEC regular season championship, captured the SEC Tournament Championship for the second year in a row, and won their eighth straight SEC Western Division title.
A huge reason for the Rebels success this season has been the leadership provided by seniors Jonas Berg and Bram ten Berge. In addition, the Rebels have gotten outstanding play from junior Kalle Norberg in singles and doubles and sophomore Tucker Vorster in doubles.
Devin Britton, Otto Sauer, Marcel Thiemann and Chris Thiemann were all named SEC Freshman of the Week a total of six times. In addition, they have combined to clinch 15 of the Rebels' 24 wins this year.
Ten teams from the SEC earned NCAA bids with Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Alabama and LSU hosting.
