Men's Tennis to Face South Carolina at SEC Tournament
4/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 16, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.- The 19th ranked, and fifth seeded, Alabama men's tennis team is set to face the 12th seeded South Carolina Gamecocks Thursday, April 17, at 1:30 p.m. in the first round of the SEC Men's Tennis Tournament at Fayetteville, Ark.
"We're excited to begin competition in the SEC Championships against South Carolina," said Alabama head coach Billy Pate. "We played a solid match against them two weeks ago but we realize it's difficult to be successful against a good team the second time around. It will be a challenge and it is critical we get off to a good start and focus on competing hard in every spot as they will be hungry for revenge."
The Crimson Tide heads into the match 19-8 overall and finished the regular season with a 7-4 conference mark. Alabama is 1-0 this year against the Gamecocks after defeating South Carolina, 6-1, in Columbia, S.C.
Alabama comes into the tournament on a four-match winning streak and is led by the 95th-ranked Saketh Myneni at number one singles. In conference matches, senior Sammy Struyf leads the squad with a 7-3 mark at number three and has a team-high 26 singles wins.
In doubles, the junior tandem of Daniel Buikema and Mat Thibaudeau, ranked No. 17 nationally, leads the team with an 8-2 conference mark at number one and is 28-10 overall.
The Tide is 17-13 all-time against the Gamecocks. South Carolina is led by Yevgeny Supeko at number one singles.
The 2008 SEC Men's Tennis Tournament, hosted by the University of Arkansas will be held at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville. The winner of Thursday's match will face fourth-seeded Florida on Friday, April 18 at 1:30 p.m.
Live statistics and complete tournament information can be found at www.rolltide.com.
