The No. 19 Cowboys (1-1) face off against the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday.
Coach James Wadley said No. 5 Ole Miss (1-1) will be a challenge.
“Ole Miss is ranked No. 5 in the country and they are the coaches’ pick to win the SEC, which is traditionally the strongest conference in college tennis,” Wadley said.
Last weekend, the Cowboy tennis team lost a close match 3-4 against the California Golden Bears. The Cowboys are hoping to rebound from the match when they face the Rebels at 4 p.m. at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa.
“Hopefully we did learn some things from that match that can make us better in the next match,” Wadley said.
In preparation for the upcoming match, Coach Wadley has the team practicing areas where he saw weakness in against Cal, including volleys, serves and overhead shots. The team drives six nights a week to Tulsa or Ponca City to practice.
The Rebels are also coming off of a tough loss. They were defeated in a 4-2 contest by the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes.
The players are looking forward to the challenge the Rebels bring. Junior Nathan Byrnes is excited about the opportunity to play good competition.
“I think it is a good opportunity to play a top-five team,” Byrnes said. “It’s good to play a quality team like Ole Miss.”
Byrnes and teammate Oleksandr Nedovyesov defeated the Golden Bear’s duo of Pedro Zerbini and Eoin Heavey 8-4 in the Cowboy’s last match.
The team will need them to play well again, not only for their own victories, but also to help inspire some of the younger players. Three Cowboys joined the team at the beginning of January, so Byrnes and the rest of the more experienced players will be looked upon as leaders.
Coach Wadley has high expectations for the Cowboys this season.
“I would like to see us contend for the Big 12 Championship,” Wadley said.
Although the match against the Rebels has no bearing in Big 12 standings, a victory against a highly ranked opponent would give the Cowboys confidence and momentum going into the National Team Indoors.
“It is going to be a tremendous match,” Wadley said, “Hopefully we will play well against the top team in the SEC.”
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