Alabama
The Alabama men’s tennis team was off from match play last week and will resume its spring schedule at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic, running February 24-26, in Montgomery.
Arkansas
The men's tennis team had only one match on their slate this weekend as they faced the 23rd-ranked Tulsa Golden Hurricane in Tulsa, Okla. Friday evening. The Hogs held their own against one of the best doubles teams in the country, but could not come back after losing a hard-fought doubles point and were defeated 6-1. The Razorbacks went to tiebreakers on two of the three doubles courts, but only came out on the winning side of one of those matches. Manfred Jeske and Mike Nott got that lone win, but it only occurred after Tulsa had won at the other two courts. Tulsa would go on to win five straight singles matches for victory, but junior Mike Ward didn't let Arkansas go home empty handed as he earned his seventh win of the year and second straight at the No. 4 spot. Arkansas goes on the road again next weekend as they will face Santa Clara and Pacific in their final tune-up before the start of the conference season. The match against Santa Clara is set for 5 p.m. on Friday and the match against Pacific will start at noon on Saturday.
Auburn
The 16th-ranked Auburn Tigers (7-2) made their first appearance in program history at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, posting a 1-2 record over the weekend at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va. Auburn dropped contests to No. 2 Virginia (4-0) and No. 14 Texas (4-2) but picked up a win over No. 7 Baylor (4-1). The Tigers are now 4-2 against ranked opponents this season, including a 3-2 mark against teams ranked in the top 25. Auburn returns to action this weekend, making the short trip to Montgomery for the Blue-Gray National Classic, which runs Friday-Sunday.
Florida
Florida is 6-3 on the season after advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2012 ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship in Charlottesville, Va. The Gators opened the event with a Round of 16 win over No. 12 Pepperdine, 4-3, last Friday. After losing the doubles point, the Gators won at 3-6 singles to pick up the victory and advance. In the quarterfinal round, UF faced SEC foe and fourth-ranked Georgia. Florida took the early 1-0 lead by winning at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, but it couldn't build off the momentum and lost, 4-2. In a consolation match on Sunday, the Gators fell to No. 10 Duke, 4-0. Sophomore Michael Alford continued to play strong singles for UF, going 2-0 in the event, winning at No. 6 singles against Pepperdine and No. 5 singles against Georgia. He is now 5-0 in dual matches this spring and holds an 18-4 overall singles record for 2011-12.
Georgia
The Georgia men’s tennis team went 3-1 this week, including two wins over top-15 teams during its stint at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va., where it reached the national semifinals. The Bulldogs defeated in-state rival Georgia Tech last Tuesday at home before defeating 13th-ranked Cal and No. 5 Florida at the National Indoors, now standing at 8-1 on the season. Freshman Nathan Pasha was the star of the weekend, as the Atlanta native won all three of his matches in Charlottesville including the clinching points vs. Cal and UF at No. 6 singles. Georgia is next in action next Monday when it opens the outdoor season on Feb. 27 at 2:30 p.m. vs. Furman at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Kentucky
The Kentucky men’s tennis team went 1-2 over the weekend in the ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championships. Kentucky is now 10-2 on the season with both of its losses coming to top-10 teams. UK earned a win in the opening round of the event, defeating No. 11 Texas A&M 4-0 behind winning the doubles point and getting singles wins from Anthony Rossi, Tom Jomby and Alejandro Gomez. The win punched UK’s ticket to the quarterfinals of the event for the first time since it advanced to the semifinals in 1997. UK would fall in the quarterfinals in heartbreaking fashion, dropping one of the closest matches of the tournament to No. 3 Ohio State 4-3. Rossi led UK at the event, going 3-0 in singles play. The junior has won 16 consecutive singles matches for UK and is an impressive 26-2 on the season, including 9-0 in dual matches.
LSU
The LSU men's tennis team cannot catch a break with the weather this season. The Tigers were forced once again to reschedule their match against the Tulane Green Wave Wednesday due to bad weather. The match has been rescheduled for Friday, Feb. 24 at 5 pm CT at the W.T. 'Dub' Robinson Stadium.
Ole Miss
Ole Miss did not play a match this past week, however several members of the team competed in the Brownsville Futures in Brownsville, Texas. Marcel Thiemann and Jonas Lutjen advanced to the main draw where they joined teammate Nik Scholtz, already in the main draw. In the latest individual ITA National Rankings, the Rebels boast four players in the top 50 of singles and a doubles team in the top 20. Jonas Lutjen is ranked No. 28, William Kallberg No. 35, Marcel Thiemann No. 38 and Nik Scholtz No. 48. Marcel teams with his brother, Chris, for a No. 18 ranking in doubles. The next dual match for the team will be Feb. 28 at home against Memphis.
Mississippi State
The 14th-ranked Dogs have now won two-straight against No. 21 Ole Miss, dating back to last spring’s 5-2 decision in Starkville. After dropping the doubles point during Thursday’s River Hills Cup in Jackson, Miss., MSU battled back during a tough in-state rivalry. The match would swing back-and-forth until the Bulldogs earned their first lead of the night as senior Artem Ilyushin downed 27th-ranked Marcel Theimann on court 2. The match-clincher came from 32nd-ranked George Coupland who has now clinched three matches in MSU’s six victories this season. No. 45 Louis Cant is now on a 7-0 tear to begin the season while Coupland has won four-straight in his 6-1 slate. Mississippi State has a few weeks off until they return to action on Friday, Feb. 24 when they will compete in the Blue/Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala.
South Carolina
South Carolina enters the final phase of its pre-SEC schedule this week with a doubleheader on Saturday against regional foes Furman and Charlotte. The Gamecocks are 8-1 on the season after last week's 4-3 win at No. 46 UNC Wilmington. South Carolina started four freshmen in the singles lineup and got key victories from three of them to win the match after losing the doubles point for just the second time all season. The Gamecocks are 4-1 against nationally ranked teams this season, including three road victories. Freshman Kyle Koch stands atop the singles records with a perfect 8-0 mark, playing mostly in the No. 5 spot (5-0). Freshman Andrew Adams is 8-1 this season, splitting his time between the Nos. 2 and 3 spots in the order.
Tennessee
The Tennessee Volunteers (4-6) wrapped up play at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va., the team's fourth consecutive trip to the annual tournament. The Vols lost three matches to west coast teams, including eventual champion Southern California. Freshmen Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese added to their season win totals in doubles, picking up a pair of victories to improve to 13-4 atop the lineup. Junior Taylor Patrick snapped a five-match losing streak at No. 6 singles against Pepperdine. Tennessee now turns to the outdoor season and the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic this weekend in Montgomery, Ala.
Vanderbilt
The Commodores will host one more non-conference match this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. against the Michigan Wolverines before heading into the SEC slate the first weekend in March.