Another Top 10 Finish For Men's Tennis

May 31, 2002

OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss men's tennis team finished the 2002 season ranked No. 9 in the final Omni Hotels Collegiate Rankings released Friday. This marks the eighth time in the last nine years for the Rebels to be ranked top 10 in the final national rankings.

The Rebels posted a 19-6 overall record, won the SEC Western Division title and advanced to the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" for the eighth time in the history of the program. Ole Miss finished second in the overall SEC standings. To finish among the nation's top 10 seven of the last eight years is quite a feat considering all 12 SEC teams made the NCAA Championships this year and six teams finished among the top 12 in the nation.

"To finish among the top 10 in the nation eight of the last nine years is an outstanding accomplishment," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "We enjoyed a successful year, winning the SEC West and reaching the NCAA 'Sweet Sixteen'. To be among the nation's top 10 is an impressive feat when you take into account that all 12 SEC teams made the NCAA Championships and ended the year ranked in the top 36."

NCAA Champion Southern California earned the top spot in the rankings followed by Georgia, UCLA, Illinois, Pepperdine, Tennessee, Baylor, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Stanford. It marks the first time ever that the Rebels have finished ahead of Stanford (17-time NCAA Champion) in the final rankings.

Ole Miss had five players in the final singles and doubles rankings led by junior Alex Hartman, who finished at No. 28. Hartman earned All-SEC honors and qualified for the NCAA Singles Championships for the third time. He is a candidate for the ITA Scholar Athlete Award.

Senior Kristofer Stahlberg ended the season ranked No. 67. Stahlberg completed his outstanding career with an 86-31 record in singles. A two-time All-SEC honoree, Stahlberg was one of the most consistent performers for the Rebels during his career. Stahlberg and fellow senior Martin Selin finished ranked 37th in doubles.

Freshman Catalin Gard ended his first campaign ranked No. 112. He made a tremendous debut for the Rebels, posting a 18-4 overall record playing at No. 3 singles. Gard won several key matches to help the Rebels capture the SEC West and ended the year winning eight in a row and 11 of his last 12.

Sophomore Paul Ciorascu completed his second year ranked No. 116 with a 26-16 overall record. Ciorascu made significant improvement from his freshman season, when he went 10-12.

The Rebels will return four of the top six from this year in 2002-03 including two of the top three in the lineup.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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