The University of Mississippi Athletics
DeChaunac Receives Automatic Bid to NCAA Singles Field
6/21/1999 | Men's Tennis
May 7, 1998
OXFORD, Miss. - The NCAA announced the automatic qualifiers for the 1998 men's NCAA singles and doubles championships Thursday, and Ole Miss' Sebastien DeChaunac was among those selected.
Four players and two doubles teams from each of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) eight regions are selected as automatic qualifiers to make up half of the NCAAs 64-player singles and 32-team doubles draws. The remaining bids (at-large) will be announced Friday.
DeChaunac was the No. 1 singles player selected out of Region III. This marks the second year in a row, that DeChaunac has qualified automatically for the NCAA Championships in singles.
Ranked No. 1 in the nation, DeChaunac is 21-6 overall this year and 16-6 at the No. 1 position. DeChaunac is a two-time All-SEC honoree, and heads into the NCAA Championships as a favorite to win the title, after reaching the semifinals at last year's tournament.
Sophomore's Martin Sjoqvist and Vikrant Chada are in the running for one of the tournament's 32 at-large singles selections. Sjoqvist, ranked 43rd in the nation, participated in the NCAAs last year in doubles. Chada is ranked 69th and this would be his first NCAA appearance.
In doubles, DeChaunac and Sjoqvist are ranked 23rd and have a legitimate chance to earn an at-large spot in the draw.
