The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Netters Set To Defend SEC Tournament Title
4/20/2010 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss men's tennis team heads to Lexington, Ky., this week as the two-time defending SEC Tournament Champion. The Rebels, the No. 5 seed, will open play Thursday against 12th-seeded South Carolina at 2 p.m. CT.
The winner of Thursday's match will face the No. 4 seed and host, Kentucky, Friday at 2 p.m. CT.
Ole Miss enters the SEC Tournament ranked No. 19 in the nation with a 16-6 overall record. They went 7-4 in the SEC and captured their ninth consecutive SEC West title. The Rebels would like to host a NCAA Regional, but to do so they'll need a strong showing at the tournament.
"We feel like we have to make the semifinals to host (NCAA Regional). The win over Mississippi State keeps us in the hunt," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "South Carolina is a tough team. We're going to have to play well. It's going to be similar to our last matches, because all of them are."
South Carolina comes into the SEC Tournament at 9-10 overall. They finished 1-10 in the SEC, with their lone win coming against Mississippi State. The Gamecocks are led by 31st-ranked Pedro Campos, who owns a 15-2 record and went 9-1 in the SEC. He suffered his first SEC loss and had his 16-match win streak snapped in their 6-1 defeat at Florida.
Ole Miss defeated the Gamecocks 5-2 during the regular season meeting and has won seven in a row in the series.
"We need to get past that one (USC), and then if we are fortunate enough to do that, we'll be playing the host team, Kentucky," Chadwick said. "They're a top 10 team, who's had an outstanding year. We felt like that was one match where we maybe didn't play up to par. I can't explain why, because the guys were ready to go. It just didn't fall into place. The guys want another chance at them, but we're going to have to beat a good South Carolina team to get that chance."
Junior Tucker Vorster has won four in a row at No. 2 singles and five in a row in doubles with Jonas Lutjen.
"We beat them (USC) before, but they're going to be a tough match," Vorster said. "We're playing with a lot of confidence right now, so we'll be ready. We feel like we can beat any of the top teams. We've been a little unlucky this season (against the top teams), but we're playing good tennis right now. I think if we beat South Carolina and Kentucky we've got a very good chance of hosting."
To follow the Rebels during the tournament, go to www.OleMissSports.com and click on the link for live scoring in the Rebel Hub.
