The University of Mississippi Athletics
Streak On The Line As Rebels Host Bulldogs
4/15/2010 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss men's tennis team puts its 24-match win streak against arch-rival Mississippi State on the line Saturday, as the two teams face off at 3 p.m. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The Rebels are coming off a tough 4-2 loss to No. 5 Ohio State on Wednesday. Even though the team has already clinched the SEC West, there is still much to play for. The Grove Bowl will wrap up around the start of the match, and head coach Billy Chadwick and the team would like a huge crowd.
"We're expecting a great crowd with Red/Blue Weekend going on. We are going to use this match to gain some momentum heading into the SEC Tournament. If we want to keep our ranking up to where if we beat somebody at the conference tournament or some things happen, and we have a chance to host (NCAA regional), we need to beat State, Chadwick said"
While the Rebels have defeated the Bulldogs 24 consecutive matches, Chadwick knows that it won't be easy.
"It's going to be our toughest match of the year. We started off the year against them, and had they match points against us. They just beat Auburn. It's going to go down to the wire," he said.
Mississippi State, while only 2-7 in the SEC, heads into the match riding a little momentum after their 5-2 win over Auburn last Sunday. The Bulldogs have three conference losses by a 4-3 score.
"This is a big match, said junior Tucker Vorster, who is 6-0 in singles and doubles in the last three matches. "We need to beat them to have some confidence going into the tournament and to maintain our chances for hosting a regional."
In the previous meeting this year, the Rebels rallied from a 3-0 deficit to claim a 4-3 victory in the River Hills Mississippi Cup. Sophomore Chris Thiemann was the hero in that match, clinching his first of six wins for the Rebels this year.
"Top to bottom they're pretty solid," Thiemann said. "It's going to be another close match. Like Tucker said, we want to host a regional, so this is a big match."
Admission to the match is free.
