Alabama Men's Tennis Faces Challenge at Rice
2/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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Alabama head coach Billy Pate will find out a little more about his team this weekend when the No. 36 Crimson Tide travels to Houston, Texas on Saturday to take on No. 31 Rice (1-1) in the first match of a four-match road swing.
The match is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be Alabama's (4-0) first road test of the season. Last week the Tide rolled off four straight home wins at the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility to start the season.
"Last weekend was good for us," Pate said. "We were pushed at times and were forced to show some fight and resolve. This weekend should be a good challenge for us though. We need to show that same resolve against a Top 20 team."
A young Alabama team will look to this week's SEC Athlete of the Week Luigi D'Agord for a solid start. D'Agord was 3-0 during the opening weekend while playing at No. 1 singles and 4-0 at No. 1 doubles. He also became the 17th athlete in Alabama history to win 20 matches in a single season.
Rice finished 2004 as the 11th ranked team in the country and began 2005 ranked No. 16 by the ITA. However, after falling to Nebraska to start the season Rice fell out of Top 25 for first time since May 27, 2003.
Alabama leads the all-time series 2-0 and defeated Rice in Tuscaloosa last season, 4-3.
Saturday's match will mark the beginning of a tough road swing for Alabama. The Crimson Tide will play four straight matches on the road against ranked opponents including No. 10 Virginia, No. 51 William & Mary and No. 49 Michigan.
Up-to-date stats and match notes are available at www.rolltide.com.
