Ole Miss Tennis Players Advance At Clay Courts

Sept. 21, 2000

BALTIMORE - Several members of the Ole Miss men's and women's tennis teams advanced to the second day of competition at the T. Rowe Price National Collegiate Clay Court Championships at the Suburban Country Club, Thursday.

Rebel sophomore Alex Hartman, ranked No. 10 in the nation and seeded No. 4 in the tournament, won two matches in the men's 64-player draw to advance to the third round on Friday. In the first round, Hartman split sets with Dietrich Haug of the University of the Pacific, but won the decisive set to give him a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory. That set up a meeting with Auburn's Tiago Ruffoni in the second round, where he won in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.

Hartman will meet Marko Cerenko of Duke in the round of 16 Friday at 9:30 a.m. CST. This marks the second year in a row for Hartman to reach the round of 16 at the Clay Courts. He has been on a roll lately, winning the Mobile Country Club tournament and reaching the quarterfinals at the USTA Futures in New York this past weekend.

James Shortall, ranked 19th in the nation, won his first round defeating Rodrigo Echagaray of Kansas, 67(2), 76 (3), 63, before losing to Minnesota's Thomas Haug 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3 in the second round.

On the women's side, Julie DeRoo and Mira Radu both dominated in their first round matches. DeRoo downed Kara Malony of Cincinnati, 62, 61 and Radu defeated Maria Galoustova of Oklahoma State, 64, 63. The women's draw features 32 players.

DeRoo will face the No. 1 seed LSU's Bruna Colosio in the second round Friday, while Radu meets the No. 2 seed, Jahnavi Parekh of Baylor. The second round of women's singles will begin at 7:30 a.m. CST.

In women's doubles, DeRoo and Radu lost a tough three-setter to the No. 2 seeded team of Janet Bergman and Bea Bielik (Wake Forest). The Lady Rebel duo won the first set 6-4 but dropped the second 6-4, and the third 6-2.

In men's doubles, Shortall and freshman Conor Casey, seeded No. 7, came back to beat Carslen Bitschkus and Leopold Grundig of Loyola Marymount 46, 75, 63, to advance to the second round.

T. Rowe Price National Collegiate Clay Court Championships
Baltimore, Md.

Men's Singles

First round - Alex Hartman (OM) def. Dietrich Haugh (Pacific) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, James Shortall (OM) def. Rodrigo Echagaray (Kansas) 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3,
Second round - Hartman (OM) def. Tiago Ruffoni (AU) 6-4, 6-3, Thomas Haug (MINN) def. Shortall (OM) 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3.

Women's Singles

First round - Julie DeRoo (OM) def. Kara Malony (UC) 6-2, 6-1, Mira Radu (OM) def. Maria Galoustova (OSU) 6-4, 6-3.

Men's Doubles

First round - Shortall/Conor Casey (OM) def. Carslen Bitschkus and Leopold Grundig of Loyola Marymount 46, 75, 63.

Women's Doubles

First round - Janet Bergman/Bea Bielik (WF) def. DeRoo/Radu (OM) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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