No. 31 MSU Netmen To Meet No. 15 Alabama In SEC Championship Thursday
May 25, 2016 | Men's Tennis
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STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State's men's tennis team, ranked 31st nationally in the latest Omni Hotels Collegiate Rankings, released Wednesday, will open play in the 2003 Southeastern Conference Championship Thursday in Oxford, meeting 15th-ranked Alabama at 11 a.m. The teams will square off at the Palmer-Salloum Tennis Center on the University of Mississippi campus.
State, 8-11 overall and 4-7 in SEC play during the regular season, is seeded eighth in the tournament. The Bulldogs finished in a three-way tie in the league with Alabama and Georgia, but gained the highest seed of the three by virtue of their defeat of both teams earlier this season. The Crimson Tide, 16-8 and 4-7 in league play, then gained the No. 9 seed via their win over UGA.
MSU and Alabama have met 41 times in recorded history (since 1969), with State holding a slight 22-19 advantage in that span. The Bulldogs have claimed 11 of the last 13 meetings between the teams, including its 4-3 win in Tuscaloosa on March 14.
State is led by junior all-American Romain Ambert who is 31-10 at the No. 1 singles position during his career and is currently ranked 17th nationally. He is backed up by senior Rene-Charles Combette, currently No. 116 in the country.
Alabama is led by senior Max Belski, who is No. 80 in the country at present. Juniors Chris Gostek and Stephen Mitchell are also both among the nation's top 125.
"Alabama will be a tough test for us in the first round," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "It is a testament to the SEC's continuing strength that the No. 9 seed in the tournament is ranked 15th nationally. We were able to put together a win against them earlier this year, but we played focused tennis that day and fought very hard to win. We will have to do the same Thursday if we expect to beat them again."
The winner of Thursday's match will meet the top-seeded and second-ranked Florida Gators at 11 a.m. Friday in the quarterfinals. State has reached the SEC quarterfinals 11 times in the last 13 years, winning the tournament in 1996. The Bulldogs were finalists the last time the event was held in Oxford (1991).
