Follow match live; follow link below article--Stephan Murray goes into the match with Lees-McRae undefeated in his collegiate career at 6-0RAIN OR SHINE #17 TROJAN TENNIS WILL RESUME AT LMC
March 29, 2009ANDERSON, SC--The last time the Anderson University men's tennis team competed was March 13; to put that into perspective, the Trojan baseball team has played 11 games since that date. But rain or shine, the Trojans are going to play this weekend, as they travel to Banner Elk, NC to go head-to-head with Lees-McRae on their indoor tennis court facility. Lees-McRae is the only other program in Conference Carolinas with as storied a history as the Trojans and with an undefeated conference record for the 2009 season. The two programs have dominated Conference Carolinas men's tennis since its inception as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference in 1996. Lees-McRae enters the match 10-5 overall, ranked 39th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) current national poll. They sit ahead of the Trojans in conference play with a 5-0 record, but AU goes into Banner Elk touting a 5-1 overall record and a 3-0 conference record. The Trojans have been washed out of 6 different matches this season, only four of which they will be able to make up. AU's only loss came on the road at ITA #4, Georgia State College and University in a tight 5-4 battle. The tough match-ups will not end with Lees-McRae either, as the Trojans will head home on Sunday to face ITA #11 Francis Marion. The Trojans enter with an impressive 43-conference match win streak on the line. The team hasn’t lost a conference match dating back to February of 2005 where they fell 5-4 to Barton. AU freshman Stephan Murray has a streak of his own, as he comes into the contest having not yet lost the first set of his collegiate career; Murray is 6-0 in singles competition this year and is making a strong case for ITA Rookie of the year. AU has not lost a match to Lees-McRae in six years since 2003 when the Bobcats won a 5-3 match on April 13th. Since 2000, the Trojans lead the overall series 9-3. The storied history of both teams makes this match-up the most intriguing. Lees-McRae has won the conference regular season crown four times, their first coming in 1998. The Bobcats followed with three straight titles from 1999-2001. Since then, the Trojans have outright dominated--AU did not even enter the league until 1999. The Trojans grabbed their first regular season crown in 2002 and followed it with titles in 5 out of the next 6 seasons, just falling short in 2005. Anderson University and Lees-McRae College have combined to win 10-13 championships in Conference Carolinas men's tennis history. The Trojans have maintained a top 40 ranking dating back to the November 2000 poll when they were No. 21. AU has been ranked nationally between #15 and #25 over the past 9 seasons. Tomorrow, the Trojans come out of hiding to challenge the Bobcats with their ITA #17 national ranking and top conference standing on the line.
ITA National Rankings
