Alabama Tennis Takes on Ole Miss and Miss. State
3/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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Alabama dropped its first two SEC matches this week to fall below .500 for the first time this season. The Tide lost to UGA 6-1 and Tennessee 6-1. It's the second consecutive 0-2 start in conference play for Alabama. Freshman Billy Mertz did win twice this weekend and was the only Tide player to win a singles match. Mertz is now 17-9 on the season has won three in a row and seven of his last 11. Alabama will continue SEC play this week against Ole Miss and Miss. State.
This week’s schedule:
Vs. Ole Miss, Friday @ 3 p.m.
Vs. Miss. State, Sunday @ 1p.m.
Rankings:
Team: 50
Luigi D’Agord: 73
Joseph Jung: 99
SCOUTING OLE MISS
Ole Miss is just one of two teams in the SEC’s Western Division that swept its matches on opening weekend, defeating Vanderbilt and Kentucky to move to 2-0 in the SEC. The Rebels have dominated at the top three spots in their singles line-up this season, going a combined 21-1. Catalin Guard is Ole Miss’ No. 1 player and ranked third in the country by the ITA. Erling Tveit and Eric Claesson are each undefeated in dual match play this season. Alabama will be glad to get the Rebels in Tuscaloosa. Ole Miss has won 20 consecutive home matches and 100 of their last 110.
SCOUTING MISS. STATE
The Bulldogs of Miss. State pulled upset wins over Kentucky and Vanderbilt last weekend to move to 2-0 in the SEC. Miss. State will enter Sunday’s match ranked 26th by the ITA, yet they are without a single athlete ranked individually. Junior Florent Girod has been the leader for MSU this season and is 8-0 in dual match play so far and is 21-7 in dual match play over the last two seasons. Amazingly, Girod has yet to lose a set. Luiz Carvalho and Jose-Carlos Pinto are the Bulldogs’ top doubles team, ranked 32nd in the nation.
MERTZ WINS FIRST TWO SEC MATCHES
Alabama freshman Billy Mertz started conference play off on a good note, winning twice. Mertz was the only Alabama player to win in singles on opening weekend. Friday night Mertz defeated Colin Purcell of Georgia, 6-3, 6-4. Sunday he came back in Knoxville, Tenn. to defeat Kiril Tcherveniachki 6-4, 6-1. The pair of victories upped his overall record to 17-9 on the season.
