The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Men's Tennis Team To Host Mississippi Intercollegiate
6/21/1999 | Men's Tennis
Sept. 12, 1997
OXFORD, Miss. -- The 1997 SEC Champion Ole Miss men's tennis team will host the Mississippi Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament Friday through Sunday at River Hills Tennis Club in Jackson, Miss.
The Mississippi Intercollegiate will feature a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw, with play beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Friday. The tournament will showcase players from perennial national powers Ole Miss and Mississippi State plus members from Southern Mississippi, Jackson State, Belhaven College and William Carey College.
"We are excited about hosting the tournament at the prestigious River Hills Club," Head Coach Billy Chadwick said. "This is an excellent opportunity for the Jackson area to see the best college tennis has to offer."
Ole Miss looks to make it four in a row at the Mississippi Intercollegiate. The Rebels have won either the singles or doubles title at the Mississippi Intercollegiate since 1994. In 1994, Ole Miss captured both the singles and doubles titles and then accomplished the same feat last year as All-American Sebastien DeChaunac won the singles title and teamed with former All-American Johan Landsberg to take the doubles.
Defending champion and NCAA Semifinalist, DeChaunac, is taking the fall off and will return to Ole Miss in January.
Sophomore Martin Sjoqvist leads the Rebels this weekend as the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Sjoqvist was instrumental in the Rebels winning the Blue/Gray National Classic, capturing back-to-back SEC Championships and reaching the NCAA Final Four. Last spring Sjoqvist posted a 25-7 record including a 17-4 mark at the No. 4 position. He ended the year ranked No. 59 in singles and No. 15 in doubles. Sjoqvist received a bye in the first round and will meet the winner of the Daniel Healey (MSU)/Mark Fulmer (USM) match at 12:00 p.m., Friday.
Sophomore Vikrant Chada faces Raymond Harrison of Belhaven College in the first round.
Chada finished the 1997 season strong, winning his last seven matches including the final match against Georgia to clinch the SEC title for the Rebels. Chada won all three of his matches at the NCAA Championships.
Barry Hassell, a native of Vicksburg, returns for his junior year after finishing last season 19-4 in singles and 17-11 in doubles. He plays Zaheer St. Clair of JSU in the first round at 9:00 a.m.
"Barry is one of the most improved players on the team," Chadwick said. "He returned from the summer in great shape and I am very impressed with his attitude."
David Blackburn, also of Vicksburg, and Ryan Thomas of Clarksdale will be making their debut for the Rebels this weekend, after redshirting last year. Blackburn plays Andreas Tiltscher of USM at 9:00 a.m., and Thomas faces Toby Simpson of USM at 10:30 a.m.
Rebel freshman Sebastien Lami is expected to be one of the top newcomers in the country this year. He is seeded 5-8 in the tournament based upon his strong play in the summer where he earned six ATP points in singles. Lami plays William Guerin of William Carey College at 9:00 a.m.
Ole Miss is looking to capture a fourth consecutive Mississippi Intercollegiate doubles title with seeeded teams Chada/Lami and Sjoqvist/Hassell.
