The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 19 Rebels Set for National Indoor
2/11/2015 | Men's Tennis
Notes (PDF) | Tournament Central
OXFORD, Miss. - Sixteen of the top 25 teams in the country are set to vie for the 41st annual ITA National Team Indoor Championship, including the No. 19 ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team. The prestigious event begins Friday at the Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago.
The Rebels (4-0) will face No. 2 Oklahoma in the first round Friday at 12 p.m.
"We are excited to be back playing at this prestigious event with 16 of the best teams in the country," head coach Toby Hansson said. "Oklahoma has been one of the top teams in the country the last few years and they have another very strong team. We are looking forward to a great match."
How we got here ...
The Rebels punched their ticket to the National Team Indoor Championships with a come-from- behind 4-3 win against No. 13 Florida followed by a 4-2 win versus No. 29 South Carolina at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Gainesville, Florida, Jan. 24-25.
Ole Miss Makes 19th Appearance ...
The Rebels (4-0) earned their 19th trip to the National Team Indoor Final 16. Prior to the 2011 season, the Rebels held the second longest consecutive appearance streak at 17 straight.
Our Last Time at National Indoors ...
In their last appearance at the National Team Indoor, Ole Miss fell to Georgia 4-0 in the first round and then turned around and defeated Tennessee 4-1 and Mississippi State 4-2 to finish the weekend 2-1.
Rebs at Midtown Athletic Club ...
None of the current team members have played at the Midtown Athletic Club before, but head coach Toby Hansson was an assistant coach and student assistant Devin Britton was a freshman on the team in 2009, the last time the Rebels played in the National Team Indoor here. In fact, Britton helped lead the Rebels to a 2-1 record that weekend as well, clinching a 4-1 win over Florida on the last day.
Scouting Oklahoma ...
Oklahoma comes into the National Team Indoor ranked No. 2 in the nation with a 6-0 record. The Sooners reached the NCAA Finals last year, and will mark the highest ranked opponent the Rebels have faced since hosting then-No. 4 Southern Cal last year in Oxford. Oklahoma is led by returning All-Americans, junior Axel Alvarez and senior Dane Webb. Alvarez is ranked No. 11. Sophomore Andrew Harris is ranked No. 26 and is slated to play No. 1 singles against reigning SEC Player of the Year, Nik Scholtz. Their top three are a combined 15-2 so far this year. The Sooners' No. 1 ranked doubles team of Alvarez and Webb are ranked No. 5 in the country.
Series ...
Ole Miss and Oklahoma have only met once previously, a 6-3 win for the Rebels in 1986 at the Corpus Christi Invitational in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Winner Gets ...
The winner of this match will face the winner of the UCLA/North Carolina match Saturday in the quarterfinals, while the losers will meet in the backdraw. Each team is guaranteed three matches in the tournament.
Last Time Out ...
In their home opener, No. 19 ranked Ole Miss downed Troy 4-3 Monday to improve to 4-0 on the season. The Rebels won the doubles point and then picked up straight set wins from Nik Scholtz, Stefan Lindmark and William Kallberg at the top three singles to make it 4-0 before Troy ever got on the board.
Live Coverage ...
Fans can follow the Rebels in action at the Midtown Athletic Club with live scoring and live video. Also follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis for updates throughout the weekend.
For more information on Ole Miss Men's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis.
