Rebel Netters Look To Tame Tigers In Baton Rouge

April 10, 2001

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RECORD: 15-5 (6-3 SEC)
NATIONAL RANKING: #11 (ITA/WingspanBank.com)

NEXT UP: #21 LSU
WHERE: Baton Rouge, La.
TIME: 2:00 p.m.

REBELS TRAVEL TO BATON ROUGE
Ole Miss (15-5, 6-3) travels to Baton Rouge Wednesday to face the 21st-ranked LSU Tigers at Dub Robinson Tennis Stadium. The Rebels are coming off a weekend split where they lost to No. 7 Tennessee 5-2 and downed No. 29 Florida 6-1.

SCOUTING LSU
LSU comes into the match with a 13-6 overall record, 6-4 in the SEC. They are coming off a 5-2 win over Alabama on the road. The Tigers are led by 15th-ranked Ajay Ramaswami, who is 10-7 at No. 1 singles. Daniel Kiernan is ranked No. 60 in the nation in singles. The Tigers' No. 1 doubles team of Kiernan and Sebastian Rutka are ranked No. 25.

LSU AND OLE MISS
Ole Miss has lost five out of the last six to LSU including last year's 6-1 loss in Oxford. The last time the two teams played in Baton Rouge (1999), The Rebels came away with a 5-2 win.

REBELS POST 1-1 RECORD LAST WEEKEND
Ole Miss posted a 1-1 record last weekend losing to Tennessee 5-2 and then downing Florida 6-1. Against the seventh-ranked Volunteers, Ole Miss found the going tough after losing the doubles point. Tennessee would win four of the six singles matches to claim the victory. On Sunday, the Rebels rebounded to defeat the 29th-ranked Gators. Florida's No. 1 doubles duo was defaulted by the head referee giving James Shortall and Kristofer Stahlberg their eighth win in their last nine matches. Seconds later, Martin Selin and Paul Ciorascu finished off Troy Hahn and Trey Johnson 8-3 at No. 3 doubles to clinch the point. Stahlberg defeated Nathan Overholser 6-3, 2-0, ret., at the top spot to make it 2-0 and then Alex Hartman topped Jeremy Wurtzman 6-1, 7-6(4) at the No. 2 position to give the Rebels a 3-0 lead. Florida's Matt Behrmann defeated Ciorascu 6-3, 6-3 to make it 3-1, but Shortall clinched the match with his 6-3, 6-2 win over Olivier Levant at No. 3 singles.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Ole Miss is ranked No. 11 in the latest WingspanBank.com ITA National Rankings. Individually, sophomore Alex Hartman is ranked No. 10, Kristofer Stahlberg is ranked No. 32, and James Shortall is ranked No. 44 in singles. In doubles, Shortall and Stahlberg are ranked No. 15.

AGAINST THE BEST
The Rebels are 12-5 this year versus nationally-ranked opponents. They are 2-4 against top 25 foes and 0-4 versus teams in the top 10.

HOME SWEET HOME
Ole Miss is a tough assignment for opponents in Oxford. The Rebels have won 56 of their last 62 matches at home. The Rebels finished 10-1 at home in 2000 and are 8-2 at home this year with their losses coming to No. 5 Georgia and No. 7 Tennessee.

IMPRESSIVE STREAK ENDS
Kristofer Stahlberg had won 16 in a row and came into the Tennessee match undefeated in dual matches at 16-0. Unfortunately, the streak came to an end with a loss to Mark Parsons at No. 1 singles. Currently ranked No. 32 in the nation in singles, Stahlberg has a career dual match record of 50-8. He is a combined 27-4 in singles and doubles this spring. Even more impressive, Stahlberg has a career record of 25-6 in the SEC, the nation's top tennis conference.

STAHLBERG MAKES DEBUT AT NO. 1
Kristofer Stahlberg made his debut at No. 1 singles in the Tennessee match. He lost to Mark Parsons 6-2, 6-3. Sunday, Stahlberg defeated Florida's Nathan Overholser 6-3, 2-0, ret., to win his first match at No. 1 singles. This week he moves back to No. 2 singles, where he is 2-0. He is currently 17-1 in dual matches.

HOW ABOUT THE TOP THREE
The Rebels are a combined 45-12 at the top three positions in the lineup. Alex Hartman is 13-7, James Shortall is 15-4, and Kristofer Stahlberg is 17-1.

STAHLBERG EARNS SEC HONOR
Kristofer Stahlberg was named the SEC Player of the Week for the week of March 26. He posted a 6-0 record the previous week including wins over the nation's No. 1 doubles team and the 43rd-ranked player in singles. This is the first honor for Stahlberg and the first player of the week for the Rebels this season.

MILESTONES
Kristofer Stahlberg needs one win to notch his 70th career victory. He has won as least 20 matches in a each of his three seasons. He needs one more doubles victory to earn the 50th of his career. Senior James Shortall is approaching his 90th career victory. He needs three more wins to reach 90 for his career. Shortall won his 60th career doubles match when he and Stahlberg defeated Louisiana Monroe's Bart Dabrowski and Rob Bailey. Alex Hartman needs two wins to reach 60 for his career. He currently has 58 career victories.

BLACKBURN RECEIVES TOP AWARD
Senior David Blackburn earned the Taylor Medal for the most outstanding student in the School of Accounting. He received the award at Honors Day ceremonies held Thursday. Blackburn, a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and a member of the Chancellor's Honor Roll, is currently in graduate school.

ON THE COURT
Ole Miss is 12-1 when they win the doubles point and 2-4 when they lose the point...The Rebels are 7-2 in outdoor matches and 8-3 indoors...James Shortall and Kristofer Stahlberg have won eight of their last nine matches at No. 1 doubles.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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