Stuart Turner follows through a swing during the game against Saint Louis. / (Quentin Winstine)

BY MATT SIGLER
mcsigler@go.olemiss.edu

After rallying late to win 8-7 in extra innings Wednesday at home against Saint Louis, No. 24 Ole Miss will hit the road with momentum this weekend to take on Southeastern Conference opponent Auburn. The Rebels (32-14, 11-10 SEC) currently sit in fourth place in the SEC West, while the Tigers (25-18, 7-14 SEC) are scratching to get out of last place. The trip will not be an easy one for Ole Miss with Auburn holding a 17-9 record at home this season and having won three straight series against the Rebels.

“There is a lot to play for,” head coach Mike Bianco said. “We are playing for postseason. Certainly, we’ve talked about the top four seeds, we’ve talked about hosting. Last I checked, we had an RPI of 20 and 11 games left and if you play well you could lower that. So there’s not a lot to play for, it’s the season to play for.”

Ole Miss will send junior right-hander Bobby Wahl to the mound to start the series Friday night. Wahl is 8-0 on the year in 11 starts with a 1.22 ERA, which is a team best and ranks second in the SEC. Opponents are hitting just .182 off the Springfield, Va., native. Wahl was also recently named to the 2013 midseason Golden Spikes Award watch list, which is given to the nation’s top collegiate baseball player by USA Baseball.

Auburn will counter with left-hander Conner Kendrick Friday night. He enters the series with a 3-2 record in 15 appearances, five of those being starts, and holding a 1.94 ERA. He has pitched 55.2 innings on the season, second most on the team, and is limiting opponents to just a .252 batting average.

The Rebels will go with junior-right hander Mike Mayers on Saturday, who is attempting to get his fourth win of the season. He is currently 3-4 with a 2.84 ERA in 11 starts so far. He has pitched 63.1 innings on the year, second most on the team, and is holding opponents to a .225 batting average.

The Tigers will send another left-hander, Michael O’Neal, to the mound for Saturday’s game. In 11 starts, O’Neal is 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA through a team-high 69.1 innings pitched. Opponents are only hitting .220 against him, and he has also thrown complete games twice this season.

Sophomore Sam Smith will close things out on Sunday for Ole Miss. He will be making his 11th start of the year and currently holds a 2-0 record with a 3.53 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched. Auburn’s Sunday starter is to be determined.

At the plate, Ole Miss is hitting .279 as a team and is averaging 5.41 runs per game. They are led by junior catcher Stuart Turner, who continues to pace the Rebel offense. He was also recently listed to the Golden Spikes Award watch list. Turner leads the team and ranks fifth in the SEC with a .389 batting average to go along with a team-high 63 hits, five home runs and 45 RBIs.

The Rebels will also look to continue to get consistency from senior third baseman Andrew Mistone, who recently eclipsed the .300 mark in batting average, putting him second on the team. Mistone also has racked up 30 RBIs this season.

Auburn has a team batting average of .267, and the Tigers are averaging 4.74 runs per contest. Senior infielder Garrett Cooper and senior outfielder Cullen Wacker lead the way with .347 and .340 batting averages, respectively. The duo is tied for the team best in hits with 50, and Cooper leads the team with 33 RBIs, while Wacker is a close second with 29. Cooper also leads the Tigers with six home runs.

For continuing coverage of Ole Miss baseball, follow @SigNewton_2 and @thedm_sports on Twitter.

The post Diamond Rebs face conference series at Auburn this weekend appeared first on The Daily Mississippian.

(Courtesy SEC Network)

ATLANTA (AP) — The Southeastern Conference and ESPN on Thursday announced a 20-year agreement to operate a SEC network that is scheduled to debut in August, 2014.

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said the SEC network will produce 1,000 live events each year, including 450 televised on the network and 550 distributed digitally. Slive says the network will carry approximately 45 SEC football games each year “and a depth of content across all sports.”

No financial terms were released for the deal, which continues through 2034.

The announcement came at a news conference attended by Slive, ESPN President John Skipper, 32 SEC coaches and each of the league’s 14 athletic directors. The emphasis was this is to be a national network.

“We believe this conference has national appeal,” Skipper said. “This is a national network. This is not a regional network. We understand that in the 11-state footprint is where the most passionate fans are, but there are a lot of SEC fans in California and Texas and New York and Connecticut and Virginia and Nebraska.”

The league’s coaches and athletic directors said having the national network will make all sports more attractive.

“In volleyball, we may want to go after players in California or in the Midwest,” said Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity. “Now they can see the SEC is going to have a broadcast of Georgia-Florida volleyball match on ESPN on Tuesday night at 9 o’clock. That’s the type of stuff you can only dream about. Now we have it unfolding.

“Football, obviously, that’s already well-populated. What it does for your Olympic sports is just immeasurable.”

Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari, who already has a national recruiting base, said the network will make all SEC schools more attractive to national recruits.

“Everybody’s recruiting stretches out because they already may want to play against Florida and Kentucky and everybody here, but being in the SEC means if you come with us, you’re not a regional player, you’re national,” Calipari said. “You don’t have to worry you have to stay home because that’s your fan base. Your fan base is national. You don’t have to worry about regional fan bases. You can go out and create what you want to create.”

Still, there was no doubt what sport drove the deal – football.

Calipari acknowledged he felt left out as he sat on the stage and heard only football-related questions. Asked where basketball fit in the SEC picture, Calipari said “I don’t know. How many men’s basketball questions were there today? Did we have any? No.

“In the room it was either they wanted to know about money, percentages or what it did with football. I was ready to stand up `Can I ask a basketball question?’ I almost did it, just to do it. Then I said no, I don’t want to embarrass anybody.”

Georgia football coach Mark Richt said the network should be another empowering tool for the SEC, already the national power with seven straight national championships.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Richt said. “It’s not a regional network. It’s a national network. It’s going to appeal to people of all ages, including the people we’re going to be recruiting. My guess is there will be content there that will showcase our players, showcase our facilities and showcase our coaching staff and what we’ve done in recent past and what we want to do in the future. It can only help us.”

Slive also would not discuss details of the ownership arrangement with the SEC and ESPN.

“We would not have done this if we did not believe it would be in the long-term benefit of the league, both in terms of distribution and in terms of revenue,” Slive said.

“We’re both happy,” Slive said.

The Big Ten and Pac 12 also have established networks, but Slive said the SEC’s partnership with ESPN is different.

“What’s unique and never been done before is partnering with our primary rights holder, which will allow us to move events seamlessly between various platforms,” Slive said.

The SEC signed a 15-year deal with CBS in 2008. CBS will still have the first choice of SEC football games.

ESPN senior vice president Justin Connolly said AT&T U-Verse has signed on as the network’s first distributor. He said talks are just beginning with other possible cable partners.

Connolly said the deal also gives ESPN rights to oversee the league’s corporate partner program. In addition, ESPN will manage and run all of the SEC’s digital platforms.

The post SEC’s new network with ESPN to debut in 2014 appeared first on The Daily Mississippian.

Sam Kendricks participates in the pole vault during a meet this season. / (Tyler Jackson)

BY SAMANTHA RIPPON
Special to the DM

Most people would bask in the flood of media attention that comes with being a member of NCAA track and field history, but many will argue that Sam Kendricks is not most people.

Last Monday, Kendricks sat alone, eating a quick snack in the Union before his last class — just like a regular college student. What one can’t tell by looking at him is that at the Texas Relays almost two weeks ago in Austin, Texas, he became one of five people to jump over 19 feet, and had the best jump in the NCAA in 15 years. That same jump is also the highest outdoor jump in the world so far this year.

Kendricks doesn’t take all the credit for himself, though. When he talks about pole vaulting and his ever-growing accomplishments, he always uses the term “we.”

“I didn’t do it all,” he said. “There’s this guy, a flight coordinator on the ground or my navigator over there, Coach K.”

“Coach K” has been Kendricks’ coach since the seventh grade — and he’s also the track star’s dad.

Scott Kendricks was head track and field coach at Oxford High School for 13 years. He coached both Sam and his twin brother, Tom, from the seventh grade through their senior years.

“Some dads spend hours throwing the ball in the yard with their sons,” Scott said. “I’ve spent hundreds of hours with Sam alone on the field, pole vaulting and training to vault.”

Those hundreds will turn into thousands of hours in no time. After spending last year being just a fan and mentor, Coach Kendricks was brought on to the Ole Miss track and field staff this year as a volunteer assistant coach for the pole vaulters.

In a world of stage moms and sideline parents, it is easy to see how this father-son duo could become complicated. But father and son said they are lucky enough to have found their perfect balance.

“Sometimes coach comes first,” Sam explained. “You always go home to your parents, and you always practice with your coach, mine just happens to simplify the process.”

Scott echoed this and pointed out that what he finds most beneficial to their relationship is that when he falls short as a coach, he can make up for it as a dad.

“Some coaches reach a point where they get tired of working with an athlete, or maybe they’ll give up on them after a hard stretch,” he said. “Sam knows that I could never give up on him. That doubt doesn’t exist for us.”

Both Sam and Scott said that once they step on the field, though, their relationship becomes professional and focused on the task at hand. The father-and-son personalities wait in the locker room.

Ashleigh Culpepper, a sophomore pole vaulter, wouldn’t know the two were related if she didn’t see them outside of practice.

“Coach K and Sam’s relationship is not father-son on the field,” Culpepper said. “Sam calls his dad ‘Coach,’ and Coach K treats him as if they were not related.”

Stephen Greer, another pole vaulter, said you can see Scott’s passion in helping Sam do what he loves and helping Sam reach his highest potential. In return, he said he can tell Sam is very grateful for the time, effort and sacrifices his father makes to help him.

The family factor is what keeps Sam grounded in the sport. In fact, the only way he could describe the Texas Relays meet where he jumped into NCAA history was by comparing it to the long-gone days of high school practices with just his dad and his brother.

“I knew I could do it,” he said. “I just didn’t know I would do it.”

This past weekend Sam went on to break the Ole Miss facility record and win his ninth straight regular-season pole-vault title. As for future plans, he said there are no long-term goals just yet.

“The goal is, and always has been, to compete at the highest level for the Rebels.”

The post The Kendricks: Ole Miss tracks’ dynamic duo appeared first on The Daily Mississippian.

Well, it’s about that time.

And a lot has changed in four years.

For example, when I came to Ole Miss in the fall of 2009, no one had heard of my high school alma mater. Four years later, you might have heard of Grayson High School.

And the same can be said for Ole Miss athletics. The exciting times ahead from last year are here now, so I ask those of you who will be back in the fall to take advantage.

It’s overwhelming to think back on my three years at The Daily Mississippian, from a beat writer, to a sports editor, to a managing editor. I think of it as a filmstrip with individual moments, frozen in time.

One moment was in Loganville, Ga., when it all came full circle for me as I covered Robert Nkemdiche’s National Signing Day announcement.

Another moment was in Nashville when I saw Andy Kennedy and the players cut down the nets after an improbable SEC tournament run.

And that’s just this past semester.

There are so many games, so many practices, so many press conferences, so many interviews, so many stories, and that’s why I enjoyed my time. There’s always a story to tell.

It’s moments like those I will remember — that and a lot of stress-filled days and sleepless nights. But it was worth it because of the people.

It’s the administrators, coaches and players you cover.

It’s the Ole Miss beat writers you share the press box with.

It’s the other DM staffers who are sometimes similarly stuck in the Student Media Center.

And it’s the people who read, share, comment on and criticize your work.

With all that said, I’m not going anywhere.

I will be back in the fall as a graduate assistant for Ole Miss Athletics, where I will serve as a writer, reporter and blogger for the official website.

But for now, I’m looking forward to one final weekend as an undergraduate in the right-field student section, that and what the future holds for Ole Miss athletics and me.

Austin Miller is a senior journalism major from Grayson, Ga. Follow him on Twitter @austinkmiller

The post Looking back, looking ahead on the Ole Miss beat appeared first on The Daily Mississippian.

Sophomore center fielder Auston Bousfield scores the tying run in the ninth inning Wednesday against Saint Louis. / (Quentin Winstine)

BY MATT SIGLER
mcsigler@go.olemiss.edu

It took extra innings, but No. 24 Ole Miss was able to pull past nonconference foe Saint Louis last night 8-7 behind a walk-off single from junior Austin Anderson. The Rebels (32-14) fell behind early after giving up four runs in the first inning, but they were able to rally with a two-run ninth to force extra innings.

“It’s an amazing game,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “We start off the first inning, and they put together an inning offensively as good of an inning we’ve faced all year long. You’ve got to credit Saint Louis. Every time they’ve been here, they’ve been very offensive.”

Saint Louis got things started in the first with an RBI double from first baseman Mike Vigliarolo before catcher Grant Nelson smashed a three-run home run to push the lead to 4-0. Ole Miss starter Josh Laxer, a sophomore right-hander, was relieved after only recording two outs in favor of sophomore right-hander Scott Weathersby. The Hattiesburg native would end up going 4.1 innings and only giving up two hits in relief.

“Proud of the way Weathersby came in and put a bunch of zeroes up,” Bianco said. “He kept them at bay and gave us a shot.”

Ole Miss would chip away at the four-run deficit when it got on the board with two runs in the bottom half of the third. Senior left fielder Tanner Mathis recorded an RBI single, and junior shortstop Austin Anderson added a sacrifice fly to cut the lead in half. Freshman designated hitter Holt Perdzock would then pull the Rebels within one in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI groundout, but Saint Louis would answer quickly.

The Billikens added two runs in the top half of the eighth on RBI singles from center fielder Danny Brennan and second baseman Mike Levine to push the lead to 6-3.

The safety cushion didn’t last long though when the Rebels answered with two in the bottom of the same inning on a sacrifice fly from Perdzock and an RBI single from Preston Overbey. However, junior Lance Wilson, who was in as a pinch runner, was tagged out at the plate to keep the Billikens up by a run.

Saint Louis continued to fight offensively in the top of the ninth and scored one run on a bases-loaded walk, but couldn’t get anything else, stranding the bases loaded. They took a 7-5 lead into the ninth, but the pesky Rebels kept chipping away.

Junior catcher Stuart Turner, who was 4-for-5 with two RBIs on the night, tied things up in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run single before Anderson was tagged out at the plate to force extra innings.

In the eleventh, Mathis and Bousfield reached on a single and fielder’s choice, respectively. Then, Anderson won the game for the Rebels on a walk-off single. On the play, Anderson was looking to bunt, but recognized a defensive shift and pulled back and swung away.

“Coach Bianco and (Cliff) Godwin always told us if they try to run the wheel play then pull back, stay short and try to hit something on the ground,” Anderson said. “Ironically, I didn’t hit it on the ground, but it found a hole, and it was good to see it drop and get a walk-off victory.”

Senior left fielder Tanner Mathis scores the game-winning run in the eleventh inning against Saint Louis Wednesday. / (Quentin Winstine)

The post Rebels rally late, beat Saint Louis in extra innings appeared first on The Daily Mississippian.

E.J. Epperson is with the Kansas City Chiefs, Wesley Pendleton with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Ferbia Allen with the Miami Dolphins.

They join the five previously announced rookie free agents from Ole Miss: Uriah Grant (Jacksonville Jaguars), A.J. Hawkins (Kansas City Chiefs), Gilbert Pena (Green Bay Packers), Gerald Rivers (St. Louis Rams) and Murphy Holloway (Baltimore Ravens).

The post More Rebels Picked Up By NFL Teams appeared first on The Daily Mississippian.

RT Cantillo slides safely into second base through an Alcorn State player. / (Quentin Winstine)

BY ALLISON SLUSHER
ajslushe@go.olemiss.edu

GAME ONE: OLE MISS 8, ALCORN STATE 0

After a tough year in the Southeastern Conference, the Ole Miss softball team ended its season on a positive note with a doubleheader shutout of Alcorn State.

The Lady Rebels (24-31) jumped out early, scoring a run in each of the five innings on their way to an 8-0 win over the Lady Braves (12-36).

Junior pitcher Carly Hummel (13-16) started in the circle for the Rebels and picked up the the win, throwing a perfect three innings. In the fourth inning, sophomore Lauren Lindsey stepped in and gave up just one hit in the final two frames.

Junior center fielder R.T. Cantillo put the first run on the board for the Rebels in the bottom of the first when she stole home. Cantillo scored two more runs throughout the game and went 2-for-2 at the plate.

Ole Miss kept the runs coming when freshman shortstop Haley Culley stole home. Senior left fielder Brittany Broome hit a triple to send Cantillo home, giving the Rebels a 3-0 lead. Sophomore third baseman Allison Brown stood out at the plate hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth.

GAME TWO: OLE MISS 10, ALCORN STATE 1

Senior Erinn Jayjohn pitched her last game of college ball in the second game of the doubleheader. Jayjohn (3-3) gave up one run on four hits in four innings of work to lead Ole Miss (25-31) to a 10-1 win over Alcorn State (12-37).

“I’m just really proud of how hard they’ve worked and how hard they’ve tried to lead,” head coach Windy Thees said of the seniors playing their last game. “They’ve all got different roads ahead of them with their life, and I just want to wish them the best. They’re great kids.”

Offensively, the Rebels again came out swinging in the bottom of the first when sophomore third baseman Allison Brown hit an RBI triple. Brown then took home on an Alcorn State error to put the second run of the game on the board. Senior catcher Kelly Nolan scored for Ole Miss in the bottom of the second on freshman right fielder Bri Payne’s RBI double.

The Lady Rebels scored in each of the first four innings, including a six-run third that was highlighted by sophomore designated player Lauren Lindsey’s grand slam, which gave the Rebels a 9-1 lead.

“The pitcher was throwing me inside,” Lindsey said. “Inside’s my favorite pitch, and I don’t get it much, so I knew when I got it I had to take it.

“It was my first actual home run. Words can’t explain it. You’re just full of happiness, you know, in awe that you can actually do something like that, that God gives you that ability.”

The post Softball ends season with home sweep appeared first on The Daily Mississippian.

Athletics Director Ross Bjork speaks at the freshman athletics convocation. / (Quentin Winstine)

BY AUSTIN MILLER
akmiller90@gmail.com

Expectations have been raised, but the goals remain the same as athletics director Ross Bjork reflects on the 2012-13 athletic year and looks ahead to 2013-14. Last year’s message centered on building confidence and building resources. This year, the message is centered on continuing to grow the program.

“I don’t know how many games we can win, or we will win; no one knows that, but I know what our goals are,” Bjork said. “Our goals are to be the best and win championships. And in between the foundation and winning championships, we have got to continue to perform at our highest level. That’s what the expectations are all about. They are performing at the highest level possible and continuing to build.”

Michael Thompson, senior associated athletics director for communications and marketing, described this past year as “getting shot out of a cannon, and we’re on a great trajectory.” He said he felt like something shifted in the Egg Bowl but, like Bjork, said it was more about the process and the journey than the results themselves, on and off the field.

“I don’t know if there’s one or two singular moments,” Thompson said. “To me, it’s like pebbles in the bucket. You keep putting them in, and then the thing gets pretty heavy. It’s so many little things that add up to what feels like a positive and exciting trajectory and where we all know where we’re headed.”

First-year head football coach Hugh Freeze led a five-win turnaround and guided the Rebels to a bowl game for the first time in three years, then the men’s basketball program ended a 10-year NCAA tournament drought with an SEC tournament championship run. The baseball, men’s tennis and men’s track and field programs are all ranked in the top 25 and are preparing for NCAA championships later this spring. Bjork made two new hires in track and field head coach Brian O’Neal and women’s basketball head coach Matt Insell.

On the heels of his SEC tournament championship and NCAA tournament appearance, men’s basketball head coach Andy Kennedy’s contract was extended to run through 2017, which includes a base salary of $1.8 million. The university will break ground on a new basketball arena in 2014, and it remains scheduled to open for the 2015-16 season, according to Bjork.

“It’s a big boost,” Bjork said of the men’s basketball season. “It shows that we can compete on a national level. It shows that we can win an SEC championship. And that gives people confidence that now is the time to continue that investment, to get involved in the arena project, to get involved in our campaign. If we have those resources, then we can do it.”

As part of the $150 million Forward Together campaign, Ole Miss has begun on the $12.5 million renovation and expansion of the Indoor Practice Facility, which includes the addition of a nutrition center and dining hall.

Bjork also helped lead the rebranding of the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation, formerly The University of Mississippi Athletics Association, while contributions to Forward Together have risen from $62 million to more than $82 million since he took over last spring.

“The rebrand said to everyone, ‘You can be a part of it,’ no matter what because it’s about Ole Miss, it’s about athletics, it’s about foundation, and everyone knows what that means, and that means a way to give,” Bjork said. “The response has been terrific, and it gives you a new way to think about Ole Miss athletics, about being involved.”

Since the rebranding, 1,200 new members have joined the foundation, and 34,000 football season tickets have been sold.

“Off the field, I’m really pleased with the response of confidence and commitment to our standpoint where people see that, they get excited about that, and they get emotional about that,” Bjork said. “I see people tear up as they talk to us about what we’re building and how we’re doing it, and the work ethic and the attitude and the effort that we’re putting forward. That makes you feel good that there is a purpose behind all of this.”

A lot of that excitement comes from the extensive national exposure Ole Miss received in the past year. From the Egg Bowl victory and the BBVA Compass Bowl to National Signing Day and the SEC and NCAA tournament runs, Bjork said that you can’t put a price tag on all that exposure, and it extends beyond athletics.

“I think that’s what everybody is trying to do at Ole Miss, to change how people view the university, not just athletics, but academically, socially and everything,” Bjork said. “I think what athletics can do, our role, is provide a marketing vehicle for the institution. I think it means a great deal to put us on a relevant national stage to continue to attract students, to continue to attract donors, to continue to attract people who want to invest in Ole Miss, in whatever way they can. We are seeing that in admission application, in fundraising and in athletics.”

Thompson said, as an athletics department, they’re aware of the increased expectations that come with this past year’s on-field success and look to carry momentum into next year.

“We’re never going to settle,” Thompson said. “I think that’s where you get really far behind and not really know it. You just wake up one day and all of a sudden, maybe the teams aren’t winning as much, and a big chunk of your fan base is eroded.”

Looking back on his first year in Oxford, Bjork said his plan that he laid out in his introductory press conference has not changed. He said the biggest challenge was the volume of communication and media scrutiny of athletics programs on the biggest stage in college athletics, the Southeastern Conference.

“I did not realize how deep the passion was, and you can’t really measure that when you’re in an interview situation,” Bjork said. “When you start right away, you don’t really measure that because you don’t have a sense of it.”

Bjork said that now that he’s been here a year, he really senses just how deep the passion is for this program.

The post Bjork exceeds expectations in first year, remains committed to goals appeared first on The Daily Mississippian.

Players walk off the field during the game Friday. / (Austin McAfee)

BY MATT SIGLER
mcsigler@go.olemiss.edu

No. 24 Ole Miss will look to get on track tonight as they take on Saint Louis in a nonconference midweek matchup. The Rebels (31-14) are coming off a weekend where they dropped two of three to conference foe Kentucky, while St. Louis (30-13) enters the game after dropping two of three to Richmond University.

Ole Miss will send sophomore right-hander Josh Laxer to the mound to start the game. Laxer, who has been the Rebels’ consistent midweek starter, enters the game with a 2-0 record and 2.08 ERA in 10 appearances, seven of those being starts.

Saint Louis will counter with freshman right-hander Joe Powell, who is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA. Powell has seen action in 14 games this season, but this will be just his third start of the year.

At the plate for the Rebels, junior catcher Stuart Turner continues to lead the way with a .376 batting average, but senior third baseman Andrew Mistone has begun to swing it well and has moved into second position on the team with a .297 average.

At the plate for Saint Louis, Grant Nelson leads the way with a .350 batting average and 33 runs scored. The Billikens will turn to senior outfielder Alex Kelly and sophomore first baseman Mike Vigliarolo for their power supply. The duo rank first and second on the team in home runs with seven and six, respectively.

First pitch between Ole Miss and Saint Louis is set for 6:30 p.m. at Swayze Field.

For continuing coverage of Ole Miss baseball, follow @SigNewton_2 and @thedm_sports on Twitter.

The post DIAMOND REBS TO HOST ST. LOUIS appeared first on The Daily Mississippian.

Members of the tennis team react after learning they will host the NCAA Regionals. / (Austin McAfee)

BY AUSTIN MILLER
akmiller90@gmail.com

For the second straight year and the 11th time in the history of the program, the Ole Miss men’s tennis team will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center May 10-11.

“It’s become a tradition here, and it’s a great tradition,” head coach Billy Chadwick said of hosting. “It’s a big-time advantage if you’re going to move on to the final 16, and we’re in hopes that we are going to take advantage of that.”

Ole Miss (15-8), which lost to UCLA, 4-1, in the third round of the NCAA Championships last season, is the No. 6 overall seed and will play Patriot League champion Lehigh (18-5) in  the first round on May 10 at noon.

In the other first round match, No. 32 Memphis, the Conference USA champion, will play No. 39 BYU from the West Coast Conference, and the winners will play in the second round on May 11 at 2 p.m.

“This is a team that’s been there before, and they also know how hard we had to work that last match against Michigan to go to the final 16,” Chadwick said. “This year will be no exception. We got to be ready to play against Lehigh, and if we get through that one, then either BYU and Memphis are two really good opponents.”

The Rebels ended the regular season ranked No. 7 in the nation and lost in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament to Alabama.

“I feel like the team got a little bit stronger from (the loss to Alabama), and I think you’re going to see a team come out hungry in this regional,” Chadwick said.

“We feel like the break has served us well. The injuries are starting to be manageable. We’re starting to practice hard every day, everybody. I feel like we’re going to be in good shape when it comes time to tee it off next Friday.”

Women’s tennis headed back to Lubbock for NCAA Regional

The Ole Miss women’s tennis team will return to Texas Tech for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels played a regular season match in Lubbock last season, where they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Red Raiders.

In the first round, Ole Miss (16-13) will play No. 14 Duke (14-9), which was ranked as high as No. 2 earlier this season, at 11 a.m. May 11.

Regional host Texas Tech (19-6), ranked No. 17 in the nation, is the No. 16 overall seed and will play No. 67 College Charleston (20-8), the Southern Conference champion, in the other first round match. The winners will play in the second round Sunday at 1 p.m.

“We played there last year, so we are well aware of the surroundings there,” head coach Mark Beyers said. “We’ve been there before, so it’s not a total surprise there. Duke, obviously earlier in the year, was one of the top teams in the country, but they have suffered some injuries, so maybe not the worst draw there.

“As far as looking ahead to trying to get to the Round of 16, you’re not facing a No. 1 or No. 2 team in the country right away. I think it’s a great draw.”

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