Feb. 26, 2008

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - - The University of Memphis men's tennis team (5-4) will have its hands full when it tries to snap a three-match road losing streak at Ole Miss, Wednesday. The Rebels are the No. 4 ranked men's team in the country and are powered by four of the nation's top 90 ranked singles players. The non-conference match is the third straight road match against a nationally-ranked team for the Tigers. The current stretch in the schedule will wrap up at No. 15 Oklahoma State and at No. 47 Oklahoma next weekend.

Memphis is being led by a pair of freshman thus far through the season. Both Michael Gaerthoeffner and Leon Nasemann are sporting five-match win streaks heading in to the Ole Miss match. Gaerthoeffner is 2-2 at No. 2 singles, but is 5-0 at No. 4 so far in his freshman campaign. He leads the team with an overall record of 15-5, including a 7-2 record in dual season play.

Nasemann just joined the Tigers in January and is already 9-1 so far in his young Tiger career. Like his fellow German freshman counterpart, Nasemann will be bringing a five-match winning streak in to Wednesday's match. Nasemann is 4-0 at No. 2 singles and 3-1 at No. 3 so far this season.

The top of the Tigers' singles line-up got a little deeper last weekend when Jimmy Khougassian returned after missing all but one match during the fall semester. Khougassian played No. 1 singles at San Diego for the Tigers, dropping that match, but it allowed fellow senior Amrit Narasimhan to move down to the No. 2 slot in the line-up. Narasimhan is 5-4 so far this spring, and is 10-9 on the year.

The bottom two rungs of the singles ladder have been occupied by Benny Fischer and Charlie Ramsay. Ramsay is 4-4 at No. 5 singles, and 1-0 at No. 6, improving to 5-4 on the dual spring season and 9-11 overall. Fischer is 1-0 at No. 5 and 5-2 at the No. 6 singles spot. He is 7-2 in his last nine matches, and did not get to complete one of his matches in San Diego last weekend.

Memphis has had strong doubles play so far this spring, with the tandem of Narasimhan and Ramsay sporting a 6-2 mark at No. 1. Teammates Spencer Heflin and Nasemann are 4-1 at the No. 2 spot, and Nasemann is also 3-0 at No. 2 when teamed with Khougassian.

Fischer and Jordan Smith are 4-2 at the No. 3 doubles spot, while Fischer is also 1-0 at No. 6 when teamed with both Khougassian and Gaerthoeffner.

Ole Miss has blazed through their opponents until running in to Virginia, the No. 1 ranked team in the country at the National Team Indoor Championships last weekend. Prior to that 4-2 loss, the Rebels had not lost more than one point in a match in five straight matches. Their only two team losses this season were to No. 1 Virginia, 4-2, and No. 2 Ohio State, 4-2.

In singles, Ole Miss is led by seniors Robbye Poole and Matthias Wellermann, who rank No. 19 and 21 in the country respectively. Fellow senior Erling Tveit also ranks in the top 25 in singles, sporting a No. 23 ranking heading in to the Wednesday match.

Bram ten Berge, a junior, rounds out the quartet of ranked players for head coach Billy Chadwick, at No. 90 in the country.

The Rebels are also formidable on the doubles side of the court, with the tandems of Erling Tveit and Jonas Berg coming into the week as the No. 4 ranked doubles tandem in the country. Teammates Bram ten Berge and Matthias Wellermann are not far behind at No. 15 in the rankings.

The match will be played at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Admission to the match is free.