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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Men's Tennis Defeats No. 15 South Carolina 4-2
3/2/2003 | Men's Tennis
March 2, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 8 ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team rebounded from a tough loss to No. 2 Florida on Friday, to defeat 15th-ranked South Carolina 4-2 Sunday afternoon at the Gillom Sports Center. The match was moved indoors due to the frigid temperature.
With the win, the Rebels improved to 7-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference, while giving South Carolina (8-1, 1-1) its first loss of the season. The win also marks the ninth consecutive regular season win for the Rebels against the Gamecocks.
"I am proud of the guys after losing a tight match to Florida, to come back and play another very good team and get the job done," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "We didn't have a letdown today. When we didn't close out the match at No. 2 singles, I was extremely pleased to see Paul (Ciorascu) step up and finish the deal."
Ole Miss won the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead, improving their record to 23-1 when winning the doubles point dating back to last season. The Rebels got wins at the top two spots to claim the opening point.
Claes Lindholm downed Marcus Westman 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3 singles to make it 2-0 Rebels. He continues to dominate every match, as he improved to 7-0 in dual matches and 29-2 lifetime in dual matches at Ole Miss.
"Claes continues to be the 'boss' on the courts for us," Chadwick said. "The team feels that every time he walks on the court, he is going to win."
Senior Alex Hartman responded from a disappointing three-set loss on Friday, to take care of USC's Seth Rose 6-3, 6-2 at the top spot to give Ole Miss a 3-0 lead. The Rebels appeared to be on their way to closing out the match within minutes of his win, as sophomore Catalin Gard held a 6-1, 5-1 lead on court two. But, his opponent, Angelo Niculescu won six straight games to win the second set 7-5 and then held on in the third set, 6-4 to give the Gamecocks their first point of the day.
Gamecock Carl Wermee defeated Rebel senior Patrick Chucri 7-6(6), 6-4 on court five to make it 4-2. The last match between Rebel Karim Alayli and Ben Atkinson was stopped with Ole Miss up 6-5 in the first set.
The Rebels return to the courts Sunday, March 9, when they will host 20th-ranked Ohio State University at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
#8 Ole Miss 4
#15 South Carolina 2
SINGLES
#1 Alex Hartman (OM) def. Seth Rose (USC) 6-3, 6-2
#2 Angelo Niculescu (USC) def. Catalin Gard (OM) 1-6, 7-5, 6-4
#3 Claes Lindholm (OM) def. Marcus Westman (USC) 6-1, 6-2
#4 Paul Ciorascu (OM) def. Tom Eklund (USC) 6-2, 6-4
#5 Carl Wermee (USC) def. Patrick Chucri (OM) 7-5, 6-4
#6 Karim Alayli (OM) vs. Ben Atkinson (USC) 6-5, OM, sus.
DOUBLES
#1 Hartman-Lindholm (OM) def. Eklund-Westman (USC) 8-4
#2 Gard-Ciorascu (OM) def. Rose-Wermee (USC) 8-6
#3 Chucri-Alayli (OM) vs. Geraldo Knorr-Niculescu (USC) 6-5, USC, sus.
