University of Tennessee Athletics
2002 SEC Men's Tennis Outdoor Championships
April 17, 2002 | Men's Tennis
April 17, 2002
The University of Tennessee is proud to be hosting the Sixty-fourth Annual Southeastern Conference Tennis Championships. The 2002 event marks the fifth SEC tennis tournament hosted by the Vols.
A 12-team single elimination bracket will be used for the event, with the No. 1-4 seeds receiving first-round byes. Seedings for the tournament were determined by regular season standings, with a tie-breaker used to determine seeds of tied teams.
The University of Tennessee looks to be a strong contender for this season's tournament title after being the first SEC team to knock off Georgia in two seasons on April, 13. The Vols, seeded third for this event, are led in the lineup by reigning SEC singles and doubles champion Peter Handoyo. The senior has spent most of his time at the No. 1 slot for the Vols and has recorded a 9-2 record in SEC play. Fellow senior Mario Toledo has also been impressive this season, leading the Vols in wins, with 31, and also finishing with a 9-2 mark in SEC action. The Vols also look to be on a roll in doubles, where they have captured points in the segment in their last three tries.
Defending SEC and National champion Georgia, who also claimed this season's regular season SEC title to garner this week's No. 1 seed, is also one of the leading contenders for the tournament crown. The Bulldogs captured an impressive 10-1 record in SEC play this season and claim four players ranked in the top 70 nationally. The Bulldogs are led by junior Matias Boeker, who is currently ranked No. 5 nationally. Boeker is joined in the lineup by No. 21-ranked Brandon Wagner, the 2001 Region III champion, No. 51 Lesley Joseph and No. 69 Bo Hodge, who was ranked as highly as No. 2 a year ago.
Ole Miss has spent most of the season ranked among the nation's elite teams and deservedly so. The Rebels currently stand at 16-4 overall and 8-3 in conference play and are the second seed for the tournament. They are led by junior Alex Hartman, ranked No. 17, and senior Kristofer Stahlberg, ranked No. 52.
Auburn and Alabama should also prove to be a tough opponent for anyone in the tournament. The Tide defeated Auburn on the final week of the regular season to help out their seeding. Auburn claims three ranked players, which helped the Tigers to a 15-6 record on the season. Alabama also stands at 15-6 on the season and looks to surprise some people this week.
Florida has also had a strong showing in the SEC this season, finishing with a 7-4 conference mark, to go along with a 14-5 record overall. Kentucky is also a dangerous team, having fired out of the gates at the beginning of the season to capture some very impressive wins over some highly ranked teams.
South Carolina, Arkansas and Mississippi State all come into the tournament ranked among the nation's top 30 teams, so any opponent overlooking these teams could go home early. These teams are all .500 or better, which is a testament to the overall toughness of the SEC.
Vanderbilt is probably the youngest team in the SEC, but has shown signs of improvement as of late. LSU suffered heavy losses from their 2001 team, but the nation's No. 45 ranked team should not be overlooked.
