February 11, 2008 --- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

SMC Tennis To Open Season Against DII Newberry
Coach Greene Anticipates Best Season Yet For SMC Tennis Program 

SPARTANBURG, SC – The SMC tennis program will open its 2008 spring season by taking its highest ranked players ever on the road to Newberry College on February 13. 

SMC head tennis coach Jim Greene says the match against National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II-member Newberry “will set the tone for the season and let us know where we stand.” 

 “This is going to be our best season yet. This will be a season to remember for SMC tennis,” adds Greene. 

The SMC men’s team is ranked 14th out of 27 teams in the National Junior College Athletic Association, with three individual players ranked, as well as two doubles teams. While unranked as a team, the women have four individual players and two doubles team ranked in the pre-season poll. 

 “We’re very excited about the strength of the men’s team, especially, this season. We all expect to be wearing boots and cowboy hats in Dallas at the end of the season,” says head coach Jim Greene. 

The NJCAA Men’s Tennis nationals are May 11-14 in Plano, TX; the women’s nationals are that same week in Tucson, AZ. 

Both teams are coming off a round of fall scrimmages against NCAA Division II and NAIA teams, which Greene says has built up both teams’ competitive edge.

Anchoring the No. 1 position for the men will be freshman Christian Ranguelov, of Sofia, Bulgaria, who is ranked 30th in the nation.  

Behind Ranguelov, Greene says there are four potential candidates on the team that could be a strong second position – Marshall Dudley, of Darlington, SC, who is ranked 66th; Gordon Arledge, of Camden, SC, who is ranked 75th; Drew Shelley, of Mullins, SC; and Mark Boswell, of Piedmont, SC. 

“Those are our lead guys – and we’ll be looking to them to pull the rest of the team together. We’ll be counting on them to bring home the wins,” says Greene. 

Rounding out the lineup are sophomore Derrick Alston, of Ridgeview, SC, and freshmen Andrew Jackson, of Columbia, SC, and James Nicholson, of Beaufort, SC -- all three of whom Greene says “are very strong players.” 

On the women’s side, freshman Kristen Swain, of Woodruff, SC, and sophomore Blayton Thompson, of, Darlington, SC, will be vying for the No. 1 slot.   

Rounding out the team will be returning sophomore Dayoona Moore, of Gaffney, SC, followed by freshmen Annastacia Laing, of Bluffton, SC, and Yasmie Smith, of Lake City, SC, and walk-on sophomore Kara Harper, of Lyman, SC.

“Kara will provide the team an extra shot in the arm. She has a lot of vigor and enthusiasm, along with a tremendous spirit,” says Greene. 

The Pioneers’ tennis squads will follow the Newbery match with Division II members North Greenville University and Benedict College, both of which the SMC men defeated  in fall season scrimmages - as well as NAIA member Emmanuel College. 

Greene predicts the women’s March 1 matchup against fellow NJCAA member Young Harris College will be their first real test of the season. 

Coach Greene says the spring schedule will be just as intense as the fall scrimmage schedule. 

 “We’re attempting to adjust our play so that we can continue to compete and win against the caliber of teams we’ve been playing. Regardless of what the other teams do, we will be able to go to battle with them this season. With us being the only junior college in our region with tennis programs, we can’t get around playing DII-level teams. But that just makes us that much more competitive,” adds Greene. 

The men’s team’s schedule of 12 matches includes five NCAA Division II, two NCAA Division III, two NJCAA, and an NAIA opponent; the women’s schedule includes five NCAA Division II, two NCAA Division III, three NJCAA, and two NAIA opponents. 

The SMC tennis program is also anticipating a competitive NJCAA matchup at a tentative April 12 tri-match in Atlanta against Abraham Baldwin Agricultural School and Central Alabama Community College. 

“That match will help level the playing field so the seedings will be more head-to-head at nationals,” says Greene. 

Both teams are also slated to play Division II member Lenoir Rhyne College’s fledgling tennis programs on the road on March 15. 

Greene says for a junior college to be competing on that level, people are starting to take more notice of the SMC tennis program and the players are that much more willing to succeed. 

“Our players recognize because we’re going up against such strong teams, they have to step up their performance. Success breeds success. Some other teams may not know what we’re capable of, but we’re coming up right behind them with a vengeance,” says Greene. 

Spartanburg Methodist College has 14 intercollegiate teams that compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which includes colleges in the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia.  

The College is in its 97th year of providing a quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning. 

For more information, contact head coach Jim Greene at (864) 587-4353. 

###