Jan. 9, 2008

HOUSTON - The Rice men's tennis team received a preseason ranking of No. 32 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)Wednesday afternoon as announced by the govering body of collegiate tennis.

The Owls are coming off a 15-12 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance last season.

"We've got every opportunity with how tough our schedule is to improve on this ranking," head coach Ron Smarr said. "It's a good deal from our standpoint because how we play during the season will determine whether we're ranked at the end of the season."

Christoph Müller and Ralph Knupfer also earned preseason ITA singles rankings. Müller comes in at the No. 34 spot, while Knupfer is right on his heels at No. 45 position.

Rice begins the spring season this weekend at the ASU Spring Invitational. The Owls match up against No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Illinois and host No. 46 Arizona State in a flight tournament.