University of Tennessee Athletics
NO. 27 LADY VOL TENNIS PLAYS HOST TO MISSISSIPPI SCHOOLS
April 06, 2006 | Women's Tennis
April 6, 2006
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 27 University of Tennessee Lady Vol tennis team (9-9, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) will play at home for the final time this weekend as it welcomes 60th-ranked Ole Miss (9-7, 2-6 SEC) at 5 p.m. on Friday, before taking on Mississippi State (3-12, 1-7 SEC) at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Tennessee is 17-12 all-time versus Ole Miss, claiming a 4-3 win last year in Oxford, Miss., for its sixth straight win in the series. Kseniia Tokarieva is the only Lady Rebel ranked nationally in singles, coming in at the No. 108 spot. In doubles competition, Virginia Tomatis and Ilona Somers are No. 55 nationally.
UT holds a commanding 25-4 advantage over Mississippi State, dropping last year's match in Starkville, 4-2.
The Lady Vols are off to a 5-3 start in SEC play. The most recent wins came in a pair of 5-2 decisions over then-No. 26 Alabama and Auburn. The Big Orange is currently tied with Georgia for fourth place in the overall SEC standings, trailing just Florida, Vanderbilt and Kentucky, who have a combined record of 23-1 in the conference.
The 2006 Lady Vol dual-match schedule is top of the line, as Tennessee has played eight contests versus teams currently ranked in the top-25 nationally. Twelve of the 18 matches played thus far have come against top-40 squads.
A total of 16 matches on UT's slate of 21 contests are versus teams who played in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Four of the Lady Vols' nine losses have come against teams ranked in the top 10 currently: No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Florida, No. 5 North Carolina and No. 7 Vanderbilt.
Senior Melissa Schaub (Lexington, Ohio) is entering the final two home matches of her four years at Rocky Top fresh off her first-ever singles match at the No. 1 position. She fell in a tight contest on Sunday to No. 39 Kim Coventry of Kentucky, 6-4, 3-6, (10-5), to narrowly miss earning the biggest win of her career (based on opponent's national ranking). Previously, she spent the entire the 2006 dual match season at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions.
In doubles, the senior has played with sophomore Ghizela Schutte (Ninapark, South Africa) at No. 1 every match and the two have a very respectable 9-9 mark.
In Schaub's career, she has 69 doubles victories, which ties for the 10th-highest total in Tennessee history. In her freshman campaign, she teamed with Vilmarie Castellvi to earn All-America honors.
Next weekend, the Lady Vols will conclude the dual-match season with a trip to Athens, Ga., for a match with the 28th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs at noon on April 15. Tennessee will head to Gainesville, Fla., for the 2006 SEC Tournament from April 20-23.
