Alabama Men's Tennis Ranked in Preseason Top 20
1/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama men’s team was ranked No. 20 in the preseason rankings by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Tuesday.
The senior duo of Stephen Mitchell and Chris Gostek were ranked 13th together in doubles while Mitchell was ranked 63rd in singles.
The Crimson Tide men pick up play on Jan. 15-18 in Athens, Ga. for the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships. The event will be an opportunity for Alabama head coach Billy Pate to evaluate his three January arrivals before the beginning of the dual-match season.
“I’m especially interested to see how our three new players perform in their first action against Southeastern Conference opponents,” Pate said. “We’re going to have a lot of young players who will have to step up and be ready to play, and this will give us a good look at where they might end up in our lineup.”
On Jan. 25 the Tide will host Jacksonville State and Samford in the Alabama Kickoff Jamboree on its indoor courts beginning at 9 a.m. The head-to-head dual-match season begins on Feb. 7 when Alabama hosts Troy State and Furman at the indoor facility at 9 a.m.
The first three team rankings will be administered on a bi-weekly basis, switching to a weekly ranking on Feb. 24. March 23 is the first computer team ranking; the team rankings prior to this will be voted on by the ITA National Ranking Committee, consisting of the 8 region chairs (Feb. 24 is the first computer singles/doubles ranking).
Singles and doubles rankings will expand to include a top 125 (s) and top 60 (d) on April 6. Will consist of a top 100 and top 50 in the rankings prior to this.
