MOBILE, Ala. - Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College's first-round opponents are set for the upcoming Southern States Athletic Conference tennis championships.
Play begins Thursday, April 16 at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala., and runs through April 18.
Both men and women open against the University of Mobile at 11 a.m. The Fillies, who went 0-5 against other conference teams, are the No. 6 seed to Mobile's No. 3. The Stallions are No. 4 in the standings to Mobile's No. 5.
ABAC's men could have been ranked No. 2 had it not been for tiebreakers. The Stallions had a 3-2 record in the SSAC, same as Loyola and Tennessee Southern. However, Loyola won the most games of the three head-to-head to be No. 2. From there, 3-4 was decided by which team won against the other. That was the Firehawks, 4-3.
Should ABAC win over its first-round opponents, they will play Friday, also at 11 a.m. The women would face No. 2 Loyola and the men would battle No. 1 William Carey.
The SSAC championship is Saturday at 11 a.m.
This will be the first SSAC tournament for the Fillies. Injuries cut their season short last year a few days short of the tourney's start. The Stallions upset UT Southern in last year's first round before falling to Middle Georgia in the semifinals.
Head coach
Matt Rogel has prepared his teams with an extra tough regular season schedule. Tuesday, the men ended the regular season by taking on Troy University. While ABAC fell 7-0,
Jules Zanarelli and
Luka Blache did win one of the three doubles matches.
Six of the men's opponents are currently ranked in the NAIA's top 25 or are receiving votes. William Carey jumped to No. 6 in the April 8 rankings. Dillard is No. 12; SCAD-Savannah is No. 22; Loyola is 24th; New College of Florida is 25th and UT Southern received votes.
The ITA national rankings show William Carey at No. 3, with Dillard 13th, Loyola 18th, Tennessee Southern 28th and New College of Florida 30th.
ABAC's Stallions are 43rd in the ITA national team rankings.
The Fillies have played currently-NAIA-ranked William Carey (5th), SCAD-Savannah (7th), Loyola (10th), Dillard (18th) and Mobile (RV). In ITA rankings, William Carey is 4th; Loyola 13th; SCAD-Savannah 16th; Mobile 25th; and Dillard 30th.
