Men's Tennis Takes on Miami in Malibu
1/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 30, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The 24th-ranked men's tennis team hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to Malibu, Calif., to compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's National Team Indoor Championship qualifying rounds. The Crimson Tide will take on No. 22 Miami (Fla.) Saturday at 3 p.m. (CST) in the first round. No. 23 Pepperdine and No. 46 Denver will be competing in the other first round match. All action will take place at the Ralph-Strauss Tennis Center.
"We had a good start to our season last weekend against two solid opponents," said head coach Billy Pate. "This week we'll quickly find out more about our team. It will be a challenging weekend as we're going to take on a very good Miami squad. A lot of coaches feel they are a top 10 team, so our guys are expecting a battle. It will be good to go up against my close friend and former assistant Mario Rincon. He's done a fantastic job there, and we're expecting a match that will go down to the wire. This weekend will also have a bit of a post-season feel to it similar to an NCAA Regional. We must be physically and mentally ready to play two tough matches."
Alabama opened the season in impressive fashion, sweeping a doubleheader last weekend with a 6-1 win over Troy and a 5-2 win over then No. 69 Furman. The Tide will need more solid play if it hopes to advance to the National Indoor Championships. This weekend will be a new experience for all teams involved, as the ITA has eliminated automatic qualifying based on national ranking. Instead, each team must compete at one of the 15 host sites to advance, much like the regional rounds of the NCAA Championships. Should Alabama beat Miami, it would then need to also defeat the winner of the Pepperdine/Denver match to advance. Each team is guaranteed two matches, so even if Alabama loses, it will still take on the non-advancing team from the Pepperdine/Denver matchup. Last year, Alabama automatically qualified for the National Indoor Championships with a national ranking of 13.
Hurricanes head coach Mario Rincon has ties with Alabama and current head coach Billy Pate as Rincon was an assistant for the Tide from 2001-2004. The Tide reached the NCAA Tournament all four years Rincon served as the assistant coach. Miami comes in with a record of 1-1 following a hard fought 4-3 loss to No. 17 Rice. The Hurricanes have two players ranked in singles, led by No. 17 Daniel Vallverdu. Vallverdu and his doubles partner Carl Sundberg are also ranked 28th nationally. The Tide is 8-9 overall against Miami, with the Hurricanes taking the last meeting in 2000. This will be the first road match for the Hurricanes this season.
Pepperdine head coach Adam Steinburg is also very familiar with the Alabama men's tennis program, having served as the head coach before Pate took over. Steinburg coached the Tide from 1998-2002, leading his team to the NCAA Tournament and a top 20 year-end ranking in three of those seasons. Pepperdine enters the weekend with a 3-2 record, with four of those matches coming against ranked opponents. The Waves have three singles players ranked in the preseason poll, led by No. 51 Omar Altmann. The doubles team of Altmann and Bassam Beidas are also tied for 45th nationally. The Tide owns a 2-3 record against the Waves, but did pull out a tough 4-3 victory in Malibu last season.
Despite being the lowest ranked team competing in Malibu this weekend, the Denver Pioneers come in with a perfect 2-0 record. Pioneer head coach Danny Westerman has been outstanding in his first two seasons, totaling a 31-14 record and leading the Pioneers to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance last season. The Pioneers' David Simson is ranked No. 83 nationally in singles. The Tide and Pioneers have never met.
Live scoring will be available at the Pepperdine website, Pepperdinesports.com.
