Men's Tennis Opens SEC Play This Weekend
3/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 5, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The 20th-ranked men's tennis team (9-1) opens up SEC play this weekend on the road, traveling to No. 56 Arkansas (6-3) on Friday, March 6 and No. 30 LSU (4-2) on Sunday, March 8. The match against the Razorbacks will begin at 1:30 p.m. (CST) and will take place at the Billingsley Tennis Center, while the match against the Tigers will start at 1:00 p.m. (CST) and will take place at the W.T. Robinson Tennis Stadium.
"It's like a new season when you start league play," said head coach Billy Pate. "We're excited to begin this part of the season, and we're happy where we are thus far. However, it's going to require great effort each match, and it starts this weekend with tough opponents on the road. We'll need to be at our best."
Alabama enters the SEC portion of the schedule with momentum, getting off to its best start since 2003. The Tide closed out its non-conference schedule in commanding fashion, taking both matches of a doubleheader from a pair of region foes last weekend, defeating Memphis 6-1 and sweeping Jacksonville State 7-0. Alabama has now been ranked No. 20 or higher for five straight weeks, checking in at No. 20 this week. Individually, the Tide has two players nationally ranked in singles. Junior Saketh Myneni checks in at No. 66, and senior Mathieu Thibaudeau is currently ranked No. 114. Alabama also features three pairs in the national doubles rankings, including two in the top 30. Myneni and senior Billy Mertz are the highest ranked Tide duo at No. 27, with Thibaudeau and freshman Ricky Doverspike checking in just behind them at No. 29. Another senior/freshman combination for Alabama, Michael Jung and Trey Walston, are ranked No. 73 in this week's poll.
The Tide holds a slim 11-9 advantage in the series against Arkansas, including winning the last three meetings. Last weekend, the Razorbacks split a pair of matches against Big 12 opponents, defeating then-No. 57 Oklahoma in Fayetteville before falling to then-No. 8 Texas in Austin. Arkansas has faced four ranked teams this season, holding a 1-3 record against those teams. The Razorbacks are led by senior Blake Strode, who is currently ranked 15th nationally in singles. Sophomore Matt Hogan is also ranked nationally at No. 120. Strode and Hogan have also combined to form a very successful doubles pair, checking in at No. 60 in this week's national rankings.
Alabama has had a difficult time with LSU, as the Tigers lead the all-time series 32-18. However, the Tide did collect a 5-2 victory over LSU last season in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers spent the first month of the season inside the top 20 of the national rankings, but have since slipped down to No. 30. The Tigers own a 1-2 record against ranked foes this season, but none of those matches took place in the friendly confines of the W.T. Robinson Tennis Stadium, where LSU is undefeated so far this season. In singles, the Tigers are led by senior Michael Venus, who has cracked into the top 10 at No. 9 in this week's national rankings. Venus and his doubles partner sophomore Neal Skupski have also been very successful this season, coming in at No. 13 this week.
Live scoring for both matches will be available this weekend. To follow along with Friday's match against Arkansas click here. Sunday's match at LSU can be found by clicking here.
Players Mentioned
