MSU Netmen To Open NCAA Championship Play Against South Alabama Saturday
May 25, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State's 28th-ranked men's tennis team will begin play in the 2002 NCAA Men's Tennis Team Championship Saturday, meeting 37th-ranked South Alabama in Auburn, Ala. Match time between the Bulldogs and Jaguars is set for 10 a.m. CT at Auburn's Luther Young Tennis Center.
MSU (10-11) and USA (15-8) will be meeting for the 13th time in the modern era. State is 7-5 in the previous 12 affairs, including a 6-1 decision earlier this year in Starkville. USA claimed a 4-3 decision at MSU in 2001. Prior to those two matchups, the teams had not faced each other since 1986. South Alabama has won its last six matches, including capturing the title of the Sun Belt Conference in its most recent competition.
"As I said last week when selections came out, South Alabama will be an extremely tough match for us in the first round," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard, who will be making his NCAA debut Saturday, said. "They have a talented team and will be difficult to beat on a neutral court. We will have to be very prepared for a team that has been playing great tennis at the end of the season."
The winner of Saturday's match will advance to Sunday's second round to face the winner of Saturday's other first-round contest between 13th-ranked host Auburn and 68th-ranked East Tennessee State. That second-round matchup is slated for a Noon start time.
State's netmen are making their 12th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Team Championship, one of only seven teams in the country (Florida, Georgia, MSU, Southern Cal, Stanford, Texas Christian and UCLA) that can claim that distinction. MSU has reached the NCAA "Sweet 16" 10 times in the last 11 years, including national semifinal appearances in 1994 and 1998.
MSU IN THE 2002 NCAA MEN'S TENNIS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
First and Second Rounds - May 11-12, 2002 - Auburn, Alabama
Saturday, May 11
#28 Mississippi State vs. #37 South Alabama - 10 a.m.
#13 Auburn vs. #68 East Tennessee State - 2 p.m.
Sunday, May 12
Second Round Match (to advance to round of 16 at College Station, Texas) - Noon
