Rebels Back in the Sweet Sixteen

It really is impressive just how good of a team Coach Chadwick puts together every single year. Illinois will be a tough match for the Rebs who travel to Athens for the Sweet 16, but this team has the experience to beat the Fighting Illini.

(SID) OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss men's tennis team punched its ticket to the "Sweet Sixteen" here Saturday at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center with a 4-1 win over South Alabama in the second round of the NCAA Championships. The Rebels, seeded No. 7, will face the No. 10 seed, Illinois, who edged Michigan 4-2 to advance.
The Rebels and Illini will square off Thursday, May 17 at 11 a.m. CT, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

This marks the 12th time for the Rebels (24-4) to advance to the round of 16 and the third year in a row. With the win, the Rebels have now defeated South Alabama (21-5) twice in the NCAA second round, also posting a 4-0 win over the Jaguars in 1999.

“I would like to say how proud I am of the entire aspect of our tennis program, from the fans, to how hard the guys prepared and played,” head coach Billy Chadwick said. “They played really well. That was a very talented South Alabama team. We had to work hard to come away with a victory.”

Ole Miss, who finished the year undefeated (14-0) at home, dominated the doubles to take the early 1-0 lead. The Rebels are now 20-0 this season when they win the doubles point and 100-4 since 2002.