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A spirit that is not afraid

Ole Miss captures SEC tennis title

Auburn hosted the Southeastern Conference's 2009 Men's Tennis Tournament last weekend.

No. 1 Ole Miss defeated No. 3 Tennessee to claim the title for the second consecutive year.

"This year was really special because this is a young team," said Ole Miss head coach Billy Chadwick. "It is a team that really has great chemistry and has come together, and they play hard top-to-bottom."

The four-day tournament featured seven teams ranked in the top 25, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

The tournament began Thursday morning with LSU defeating South Carolina and Alabama defeating Vanderbuilt.

In the afternoon, Kentucky defeated Arkansas and Auburn beat Mississippi State.

"I thought we just out-competed them today, and we needed to do that today after losing to them earlier in the year," said Auburn head coach Eric Shore. "I was proud of our guys for what they did."

Senior Alex Tsyrenov defeated Ryan Farlow in a singles match that gave the Tigers a 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs.

"The conditions in the first set were very tough for me," Tsyrenov said. "In the second set, he started missing a little bit and I changed my plan. I found my game and kept it going to the end."

The victory advanced Auburn to the second round to take on Georgia, where the team fell 4-1.

"We did a good job on doubles, but you have to give it to Georgia," Shore said. "They came back in singles and played hard and getting the four points to win. They are a good team."

The second round also featured No. 4 Florida defeating No. 5 Alabama, No. 1 Ole Miss defeating No. 8 LSU and No. 3 Tennessee defeating No. 6 Kentucky.

The Volunteers pulled off the first upset of the tournament by defeating Georgia in the semifinals. The win earned Tennessee a spot in Sunday's championship match.

"It was another SEC battle," said Tennessee head coach Sam Winterbotham. "Every match in this league comes down to the wire, and today was no different. I am proud of my guys' victory today; we need to regroup and get ready for tomorrow."

Ole Miss defeated Florida, 4-0, to earn its spot in the championship match.

The Vols and the Rebels faced off Sunday in the championship match, where Ole Miss won 4-2.

"You have to give Ole Miss credit today because it was a team effort on their part, that is what college tennis is about," Winterbotham said. "College tennis is not about one individual, it is about a team coming together and over-achieving. Mississippi came in and they did that all week. They played with a lot of confidence, and I think, as a team, we are going to come out of this with a lot of confidence too, because we know we can play with the best; we know we can beat the best, and we are looking forward to doing that in NCAAs."

The first round of NCAA tournament will begin May 8, and the championship will be held in College Station, Texas.

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