Ole Miss Rebels tennis

Ole Miss men's tennis team

Ole Miss men’s tennis head coach Billy Chadwick was named both the SEC Coach Of the Year and the USPTA National College Coach of the Year.

Contents

• Ole Miss mens tennis team
• NCAA hosting snub
• NCAA Tournament
• Mens singles competition
• Ole Miss womens tennis team
• References

Ole Miss men’s tennis freshman Devin Britton was named the Southeast Region Rookie of the Year by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).

Ole Miss men’s tennis team finished the 2009 season atop the second annual ITA Attendance Race standings for regular season home matches. Ole Miss drew 5,550 fans to its matches this season. Ole Miss also finished atop the race standings in average attendance. The Rebels drew an average of 617 fans for its nine home matches. The Rebels were also able to post five of the top eight single match totals on the season.

Ole Miss men's tennis team won the SEC regular season for the fifth time in the history of the program, repeated as SEC Tournament Champion, captured their eighth straight SEC West title and reached the NCAA Elite Eight for the ninth time.

NCAA hosting snub

Much to the dismay of the team, coaches and fans, despite going undefeated in SEC play and being SEC champions, winning the last 17 of its matches of the regular season, drawing the #2 overall seed in the nation for the 2009 NCAA Tennis Championships tournament and leading the nation in average attendance at tennis matches, Ole Miss was denied being one of the 16 host teams for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament by the NCAA. Ole Miss had been a host for the previous 8 years. Instead, the Rebels were sent - because of a new NCAA travel rule - by the NCAA to Baton Rouge, Louisiana at host site Louisiana State University. Hotel rooms had been reserved in Oxford, Mississippi and parents had made plans to travel across the ocean (Ole Miss seniors Jonas Berg and Bram ten Berge are from Europe) to see their sons graduate and play tennis. Due to having to play at LSU, the seniors were unable to participate in the regular graduation ceremony with their other graduating senior classmates. However, after beating LSU in the second round of the NCAA Championships in Baton Rouge to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, the pair received their diplomas in a special graduation ceremony Sunday morning May 10. University of Mississippi Chancellor Dr. Robert Khayat presented the pair their diplomas. The explanation given by the NCAA regarding the hosting snub was that since the regional will be held at LSU, all three other teams could presumably drive. If the regional were to be held at Ole Miss, the Rice players would likely have to fly. Said Ole Miss tennis coach Billy Chadwick:

Reacting to the decision by the NCAA, Ole Miss chancellor Robert Khayat said:

NCAA Tournament

Ole Miss, going into the tournament as the #2 seed, defeated Alcorn State University 4-0 in the first round and LSU 4-2 in the second round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they played, and defeated 4-1, host Texas A&M University in the first round at College Station, Texas. The wins against Alcorn State, LSU and Texas A&M extended the Rebels win streak to 20 straight matches. The win over Texas A&M helped the Rebels advance to the Elite Eight, also held at College Station, Texas, where they met #7 seed UCLA on May 16, 2009. UCLA won 4-3, ending the Rebels season with a school record 27 wins to only 3 losses.

Men's singles competition

Ole Miss freshman Devin Britton made history becoming the first Rebel to reach the NCAA men’s singles championship match and becoming the first Rebel to ever win a NCAA men's singles championship. Britton defeated Moritz Baumann of Wisconsin in the first round then beat Dominic Inglot of Virginia in the second round. In the third round, Britton sent Rice senior Bruno Rosa out of the tournament in straight sets, and then he beat Stanford’s Alex Clayton in the quarterfinals. To advance to the NCAA championship match, he defeated Blake Strode of Arkansas with a straight set win. To win the championship, Britton defeated Ohio State senior Steven Moneke.

Ole Miss women's tennis team

The Ole Miss women’s tennis team were chosen to participate in the 2009 NCAA Tennis Championships tournament. The Rebels, as the No. 2 seed in the regional, defeated the University of Denver 4-1 in the first round and lost to host Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 4-1 in the second round, ending the Rebels' season with a 15-10 record.