Men's Tennis Gears up for Southern Regionals
10/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Oct. 21, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The men's tennis team is sending seven players to New Orleans to participate in the 2009 Wilson/ITA Southern Regional Championships this week. Play gets underway on Thursday, Oct. 22 and continues through Monday, Oct. 26. The tournament is being co-hosted by Tulane University and the University of New Orleans.
"It is great to have Tulane as one of the hosts for this regional," said head coach Billy Pate. "With Hurricane Katrina, the department was forced to drop some sports, and this is the first year back for men's tennis. Selecting them as a site is a nice testament to what they've done. This is the first time we've been to Tulane since I've been here, so we're all really looking forward to it."
The Crimson Tide took last week off after sending players to the D'Novo /ITA Men's All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. and the Harvard Fall Invitational in Cambridge, Mass. earlier this month.
This week, the team will get a look at the best players from across the Southern region, which consists of teams from the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Competing for the Tide will be seniors Saketh Myneni, who is currently ranked No. 10 in the country, and Houssam Yassine, junior Trey Walston, sophomores Creighton Blanchard, Ricky Doverspike and Michael Thompson and redshirt freshman Michael Davis.
"As always, this is going to be a tough regional," added Pate. "There is solid competition from four other SEC schools in Auburn, LSU, Mississippi and Mississippi State, along with a handful of others, so we should definitely get some great matches in this week."
Alabama will return home next week to host the annual Crimson Tide Fall Championships Friday, Oct. 30-Sunday, Nov. 1.
Players Mentioned
