MSU Netmen Earn 13th-Straight NCAA Bid; To Meet Pepperdine In First Round
Wednesday's selection marks the Bulldogs' 13th-consecutive appointment to the NCAA Team Championship field, one of only seven schools (Florida, Georgia, MSU,Southern Cal, Stanford, TCU and UCLA) in the nation to have earned that distinction. State has also reached the NCAA Championships' round of 16 or better in 10 of the last 12 seasons and was a national semifinalist in 1994 and 1998.
MSU (8-12), currently ranked 39th nationally, will meet an unfamiliar foe in the first round in 26th-ranked Pepperdine (16-10), next Saturday, May 10, at a time to be announced. If State wins that contest, the Bulldogs would advance to play the winner between sixth-ranked host Vanderbilt (who is the country's No. 7 seed overall) and Tennessee Tech on Sunday, May 11, in the second round. That match would be for a spot in the NCAA Team Championship's round of 16, which will be held May 17-20 in Athens, Ga.
Pepperdine has won eight of its last 10 matches entering the NCAAs, including claiming the Western Athletic Conference title two weeks ago. The Bulldogs and Waves will be meeting for just the fifth time in recent history. State is 3-1 in the previous four affairs, including a 4-3 decision in the last clash. That contest was in 1996 in the semifinals of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Louisville, Ky. MSU was ranked #6, and PU #7, at the time.
"We are very happy to be back in the NCAA field again this year," second-year MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "We have been through lots of adversity this season with injuries on our team. Considering that, for our guys to make the NCAAs is a testament to their ability to fight very hard and still manage to put us in position to make the postseason.
"Pepperdine is going to be a difficult opponent to lay in the first round. They have had a good season, won their conference, and having been playing well lately. As it has been all season with us, we will have to prepare very well and focus to upset them."
The SEC's power is once again very evident in the national championship with 11 of its 12 of its teams earning bids to the 64-team field.
The selections for the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, to be played May 21-26 in Athens, will be released Thursday. Junior Bulldog all-American Romain Ambert, currently ranked 19th nationally, is expected to earn his third straight bid to the 64-player singles field. The Toulouse, France, native is a three-time, first-team, all-Southeastern Conference selection and was 2002's Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Player to Watch as well.
MSU IN THE 2003 NCAA MEN'S TENNIS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
First and Second Rounds
May 10-11, 2003 - Nashville, Tenn.
Saturday, May 10
#6 Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee Tech - TBA
#26 Pepperdine vs. #39 Mississippi State - TBA
Sunday, May 11
Second Round Match (to advance to round of 16 at Athens, Ga.) - TBA
(numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings)