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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Men's Tennis Set To Kick Off Another Exciting Year
9/17/2009 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - Coming off a championship season in 2009, the Ole Miss men's tennis team is ready to kick off another year as they head to the wine country of California this weekend for the Napa Valley Tennis Classic.
The Rebels are coming off an outstanding campaign last year, in which they won the SEC Regular Season Championship, repeated as SEC Tournament Champion, advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight and finished the year ranked No.4 in the nation. Former Rebel Devin Britton capped the year by winning the NCAA Singles Championship.
This year's team will be led by senior Kalle Norberg. Norberg, last year's SEC Tournament MVP, begins the 2009-10 season ranked No. 31 in the nation in singles and 32 in doubles. Norberg was the only player to go undefeated in the SEC last year and finished with a 35-4 overall record, 20-1 in dual matches.
Junior Tucker Vorster will be counted on to provide leadership as Norberg is the lone senior. Vorster has been a major contributor in doubles for the Rebels the last two seasons and begins the year ranked No. 32 with Norberg. Knee surgery in the summer of 2008 prevented him from being in the singles lineup last year, but now 100 percent, he is expected to be a big part of the Rebels' success in singles and doubles.
Also back are the Thiemann twins, Marcel and Chris. Marcel, named SEC Freshman of the Week twice last year, posted a 17-5 overall record, 16-4 in dual matches. Chris went 9-4 overall in 2009 and earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
Joining the team this fall is freshman Adrian Skogeng Forberg of Oslo, Norway. Skokeng was ranked No. 1 in Boys 18s in Norway.
"The team has been working extremely hard in our preseason workouts and they are very excited to start the season off with such a prestigious event," head coach Billy Chadwick said.
The fall collegiate tennis season consists of individual tournament play that counts towards NCAA singles and doubles selections. Team dual matches begin in January.
Following this weekend's action, the Rebels will participate in the ITA All-American Championships (Oct. 5-11), followed by the ITA South Regional Championships (Oct. 22-25) in New Orleans, La. The Rebels will also participate in two USTA Futures events during November.
The second national championship tournament (ITA National Indoors) of the year takes place Nov. 5-8 in New Haven, Conn.
The spring season begins with the SEC Indoor Championships Jan. 15-18. The Rebels will kick off the dual match season Jan. 25 against Mississippi State in the annual River Hills Mississippi Cup. Their first home match will be Jan. 30 as they host the first and second rounds of the ITA National Indoor at the Gillom Sports Center.