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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Netters To Begin Season No. 8 In Nation
1/13/2003 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 13, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. - As it has done every year since 1994, the Ole Miss men's tennis team begins the 2003 season ranked in the top ten in the nation. The Omni Hotels national rankings released Tuesday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) have the Rebels ranked No. 8. In addition to the team ranking, Ole Miss has four singles players and one doubles team in the individual rankings.
The 2002 SEC Western Division Champions reached the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" and ended the 2002 campaign ranked No. 9 nationally. Last season marked the eighth time in nine seasons that the team has finished in the ITA top ten.
The Rebels are one of four SEC teams to be among the nation's top 10. Florida at No. 5, Georgia at No. 6 and Kentucky at No. 9 are the other conference schools to make the top 10. Leading all conferences once again, the SEC placed nine teams in the Top 25 with Tennessee, Auburn, Alabama, South Carolina and Mississippi State rounding out the league.
"We are very excited about this year's squad, and we will be counting on senior All-American Alex Hartman and senior Patrick Chucri for leadership," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "We are looking forward to building on last year's success and continuing the tradition of excellence that has been established at Ole Miss and in the SEC."
The Rebels return five of the top six from last year's team and boast three players among the nation's top 35. Leading the way for the Rebels is junior Paul Ciorascu, who begins the spring ranked No. 18 in singles. He posted a 12-6 record in the fall and defeated six nationally-ranked players including the No. 3 and 9 ranked players.
Hartman will begin his final season with the Rebels at No. 24. A three-time All-SEC honoree, Hartman went 6-3 during the fall. Sophomore sensation Catalin Gard starts the spring at No. 34 after going 7-3 in the fall including a win over the nation's No. 8 player. Junior Claes Lindholm, one of the most consistent performers for the Rebels last year, is ranked No. 108. He went 3-2 with one of his two losses coming against the No. 3 player in the country.
In doubles, Hartman and Lindholm are ranked No. 40. The pair posted a 3-2 record last fall and went 7-1 last year including a huge win in the Rebels' victory over Middle Tennessee in the NCAA Regional final.
Only results from the fall season were considered for this ranking, which was voted on by the ITA National Ranking Committee. The next singles and doubles ranking will be administered by the ITA computer system. Starting Jan. 29, team rankings will be released weekly through May. The next individual ranking will be released Feb. 26 and continue every other week through May.
The Rebels open the 2003 season this weekend at the SEC Indoor Championships in Atlanta, Ga. Their first dual match of the season is Jan. 27 when they will host South Florida at 2 p.m.