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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Men's Tennis Up To No. 5 In Latest Rankings
3/26/2003 | Men's Tennis
March 26, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. -
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The Ole Miss men's tennis team moved up to No. 5 in this week's Omni Hotels Collegiate Rankings, as they get set to face 19th-ranked Georgia and 35th-ranked Tennessee on the road this weekend.
The Rebels enter the weekend with a 12-3 overall record, 4-2 in the SEC. They are leading the SEC West, but will continue play in the Eastern Division, traveling to Athens, Ga., Friday to play 19th-ranked Georgia at 2:30 p.m.
"We are excited to be ranked No. 5 in the nation," head coach Billy Chadwick said. The matches are extremely tough every weekend in conference play, and this weekend will be no different. As with our match on Sunday, every team in this league is capable of beating anybody on a given day. That's why it is regarded as the best in the nation."
Ole Miss downed Kentucky 7-0 last Friday and then lost to Vanderbilt, who moved up to eighth in the rankings, 4-3 on Sunday. Senior Alex Hartman, who is rated 15th in the latest individual rankings also released Wednesday, will face his fourth top 20 opponent in five matches, when he meets No. 3 Bo Hodge of Georgia. Hartman needs one win to record his 100th career victory.
Sophomore Catalin Gard moved up to No. 21 in the singles rankings and heads into the weekend a winner of five straight, including last Sunday's victory against 10th-ranked Chad Harris (Vanderbilt). Junior Paul Ciorascu is ranked No. 29 in this week's singles rankings, with a 31-10 overall record, 13-2 in dual matches. He has won nine of his last 10.
Georgia comes into the weekend at 6-9 overall and 2-3 in the SEC. The Bulldogs are coming off a 5-2 loss to No. 42 Pepperdine last weekend. In their last conference match (March 16) Georgia defeated LSU 4-3. The Bulldogs are led by Hodge, who owns a 12-2 record at No. 1 singles and has won six straight. The Rebels lost to Georgia 5-2 last year in Oxford, when the Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 in the nation.
On Sunday the Rebels will travel to Knoxville for a 1 p.m. match against Tennessee. Tennessee enters the weekend with a 9-6 overall record, 2-4 in the SEC. They are coming off a 4-3 win over Georgia Southern on March 18. Their March 23 match against Miami was canceled due to heavy rains. In their last conference match the Volunteers defeated Arkansas 4-3. The Volunteers are led by 33rd-ranked Simon Rea, who is 7-2 at No. 1 singles and 5-1 at No. 2 singles. Ole Miss edged Tennessee 4-3 last year in Oxford.