Rebels to Face Duke in First Round in Palo Alto
University, Miss. – Ole Miss Men’s Tennis earned its 25th consecutive NCAA bid, as the NCAA announced the 64-team bracket Tuesday. The Rebels will head to Palo Alto, California, where they will face Duke in the first round May 12 at noon CT.
Stanford, the No. 4 overall seed, is hosting the first two rounds and will face New Mexico State in the first round. The winners will meet in the second round May 13 at 4 pm CT for a berth in the Sweet Sixteen in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
Quick Hits…
- This marks the 27th overall NCAA appearance for the Rebels. Ole Miss owns the fifth-longest consecutive NCAA appearance streak in the nation with 25 straight. The Rebels earned their first-ever NCAA bid in 1989 and then again in 1992 and 1994. They have been every year since then.
• The Rebels are led by senior Gustav Hansson, who hopes to return to the lineup for the first time since March 16. He is ranked No. 44 in the latest Oracle/ITA Rankings.
• Sophomore Tim Sandkaulen is ranked No. 31 in singles and twice in doubles at No. 17 with Fabian Fallert and No. 46 with Grey Hamilton.
• Duke owns a 16-13 overall record and is led by No. 17 ranked Nicolas Alvarez at No. 1 singles. - Ole Miss has faced Duke six times, going 2-4 against the Blue Devils.
At the Net with Head Coach Toby Hansson…
“We are excited about the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament for the 25th straight time. The guys deserve this, because they have been working hard the entire season to put ourselves in this position. We’re going to go out to Palo Alto and play our best tennis and enjoy it.”
On Playing Duke…
“It should be a very even match. They have a good team and so do we. We’re expecting a tough match, but if we come out and play hard like we always do, I like our chances.”
Senior Grey Hamilton…
“It will definitely be cool to go back to California. We all enjoyed our trip to California last year as well as the year before, so I think we are all looking forward to going back for the third year in a row.”
On Playing Duke…
“I am familiar with Duke, I know a lot of the guys from growing up in North Carolina and playing junior tennis against them. We played them two years ago at the National Team Indoor, but obviously both teams are a little bit different now. It should be a good match, and we are looking forward to it.”
For more information on Ole Miss Men’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis.
