Rebel Netters Ready For Next Challenge

OXFORD, Miss. The No. 2 nationally ranked Ole Miss men’s tennis team is ready for its next challenge at the NCAA Championships, taking on the 15^th-ranked and host team, Texas A&M, in the third round Thursday at 6 p.m. at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.

The Rebels, who had to travel to Baton Rouge, La., for the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships advanced to the final 16 with a 4-2 win over SEC rival LSU last Saturday.  The team feels that with the experience of winning on the opponent’s home court, they will be ready for the task of taking out the Aggies in front of what will likely be a couple thousand fans.

“They’re living for this moment,” head coach Billy Chadwick said.  “They (players) said it’s going to be fun playing Texas A&M at Texas A&M.  Having played down at LSU and being successful there we’re better prepared for the task.

“I am extremely pleased that we are in the final 16.   I am really happy with the team that they were able to take care of things down at Baton Rouge.  Going into this match we know it’s probably the toughest first round match there, playing the host. Not only playing the host team, but a very good team.  It’s a difficult assignment, but the guys are ready for it.”

Ten Berge is the only member of the team who has experience playing at College Station as he was a freshman when the Rebels reached the Final Four there in 2005.

“From being down there, it’s very tough to play the there, and the host team is always the toughest team to play.  It’s going to be a huge task,” said ten Berge this year’s SEC Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Despite playing their second home team in a week, ten Berge says the team is ready for the challenge.

“We were away, but there were so many people there from Ole Miss, that it kind of felt like we were at home,” said the All-American of playing at LSU.  “We didn’t feel like we were in a hostile environment. To come through with me sitting out, and the four freshmen getting it done, that was a huge step in the right direction.  To get it done on the road in very high temperatures is very similar to the task that we face at College Station.”

The Rebels (26-2) won the SEC regular season championship and repeated as SEC Tournament Champion.  They have accomplished all this with four freshmen in the lineup.  In fact, the four freshmen have combined to go 22-1 since the first match of the SEC Tournament.  Devin Britton was named the ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year in addition to earning All-SEC team honors and making the SEC All-Freshman team.

Texas A&M (17-8) is serving as host to the final 16 for the third time, the first time with both men’s and women’s teams.  The Aggies moved on to the round of 16 with a 4-0 win over Arizona in the second round.  This is their first Sweet 16 appearance since they last hosted the finals in 2005.  A&M is led by senior Connor Pollock, who is ranked No. 17 in the nation with a 13-8 record at No. 1 singles.  The Aggies’ No. 1 doubles team of Austin Krajicek and Pollock is ranked No. 8 with a 17-4 record.

“They are very good at 1-4 in singles and 1 and 2 doubles,” Chadwick said.  “We need to jump on them early and get the doubles point.  We’ve been playing good doubles. We are going to try as much as possible, to take the crowd out of it, and you can do that if you can get on top and stay on top.  Our objective is to get off to a fast start.  Even though they are strong at 1-4, we feel like that we are too.  We match up good at every position, and it’s going to be a great college match.  We’ll definitely be out-numbered. They’ll probably have 2,000 fans there.”

Fans not able to make the trip to College Station, can follow all the action live by going to www.OleMissSports.com and clicking on the link in the calendar box.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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