Alabama Men’s Tennis Set for Pair of Road SEC Matches

Thursday, March 9

Starkville, Miss.

3 p.m.

Alabama

Mississippi State University

Alabama Men’s Tennis Set for Pair of Road SEC Matches

3/8/2017 4:19:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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The Crimson Tide set to take on No. 16-ranked Mississippi State and in-state rival Auburn this weekend

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's tennis team is set to travel for first pair of Southeastern Conference road matches this weekend. The Crimson Tide (6-8, 0-2 SEC) will travel to Starkville, Miss., on Thursday, March 9, to take on the No. 16-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs in a match that is set to start at 3 p.m. CT and will face in-state rival Auburn on Saturday, March 11, at 3 p.m. CT.

Last Time Out:

Alabama went 0-2 last weekend to officially begin the Southeastern Conference portion of this year's schedule. The Tide lost a close contest to the Ole Miss Rebels on Friday night under the lights, 4-3, to kickoff league play, before falling short against the Arkansas Razorbacks in a 4-3 decision on Sunday afternoon.

Alabama Notes:

The Alabama men's tennis team had two singles players and one doubles pair earn national rankings this week, announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association earlier this week.

Sophomore standout Mazen Osama climbed 21 spots to earn a No. 41 national ranking in singles play, marking his fourth week in the rankings since beginning the dual match season. Osama is second on the team in singles wins since beginning the season, owning a 7-4 mark including a 7-3 and 0-1 record from the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots, respectively.

Freshman Thibault Cancel earned the No. 103 national ranking in singles play after previously being unranked the week before. Cancel has a 6-7 record in singles play in the dual match season and has been nationally ranked three times since the start of the spring season.

Osama and sophomore Spencer Richey teamed up to achieve a No. 66 national ranking in doubles play after posting a 6-5 record to start the dual match season. The pair's six wins together marks them most doubles wins by a duo on the team so far this season with all matches coming from the No. 1 doubles position.

The Tide has an overall 30-41 singles record in dual match play, and it has a 16-19 mark in doubles play since beginning the spring season. Freshman Edson Ortiz leads the team with the most singles wins since beginning dual match play with a 9-4 mark. Ortiz is 3-2, 1-1, and 5-1 from the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 singles positions, respectively.

Mississippi State Notes:

Mississippi State enters Friday's contest with a 10-3 overall record, including a 1-0 mark in league play. Earlier this week, the Bulldogs registered back-to-back 4-0 shutouts over Alcorn State. Mississippi State's lone conference win came in a 4-2 decision over the Auburn Tigers last Sunday. MSU has one singles player and one doubles tandem that are nationally-ranked. Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey enter Thursday's match at No. 48, while Nuno Borges is ranked No. 4 in singles play.

Auburn Notes:

Auburn enters Sunday's match with an 8-6 overall record, including a 0-1 mark in conference play. Sunday's contest against Alabama marks the only match of the weekend for the Tigers. Auburn has one singles player and one doubles pair that are nationally-ranked. Maxeme Hinnisdaels and Conner Huertas teamed up to achieve a No. 9 ranking in doubles play, and Hissisdaels is ranked No. 64 in singles play.

Series History:

When Alabama and Mississippi State face each other on Thursday it will mark the 82nd time the two programs have met, dating back to the 1949 season. The Bulldogs hold a 49-32 advantage in the series. Last year, MSU defeated Alabama in a 5-3 decision. The last time the Tide topped the Bulldogs was during the 2010 season, when Alabama won a 4-3 thriller over Mississippi State.

When the Tide and the Tigers square off against each other on Saturday it will mark the 93rd time the two schools have faced each other. Alabama holds a 59-32-1 advantage in the series. Last year, Alabama defeated Auburn in a match that went the distance, 4-3.

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