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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
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Mississippi State
SEC West Champion Rebels Down Mississippi State 7-0
4/12/2003 | Men's Tennis
April 12, 2003
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The SEC West Champion Ole Miss men's tennis team downed arch-rival Mississippi State 7-0 Saturday afternoon at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre to close out the SEC regular season with their 11th straight win over the Bulldogs. The Rebels (17-3, 9-2) finish the conference regular season as the runner-up overall for the second year in a row and now turn their attention to the SEC Championship, which they will host April 17-20 at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
In the highlight of the day, junior Paul Ciorascu became the second Rebel ever to go undefeated (11-0) in the SEC regular season with his 6-2, 6-2 win over Florent Girod at No. 3 singles. Former All-American Johan Hede accomplished the feat in 1996. Ciorascu, ranked No. 27 in singles, has won 10 in a row and 14 of his last 15 matches.
"This is a significant accomplishment for Paul," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "To go undefeated in the SEC, which is regarded as the best league in the nation, speaks to his outstanding play this season."
Mississippi State (8-11, 4-7) was playing without two of its starters, and Ole Miss took advantage of that right from the beginning in doubles. The Rebels claimed the top spot 8-3, with Alex Hartman and Claes Lindholm improving to 15-3 at No. 1 doubles. The Bulldogs claimed the No. 2 match 9-7, but the Rebels won at No. 3 doubles, 8-3 to clinch the point. The Rebels improved to 28-1 when they win the doubles point dating back to last season.
In singles, Ole Miss won the first set on every court. Karim Alayli downed MSU's Michael Hailey 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6 singles to make it 2-0 and then Ciorascu completed his victory to give the Rebels a 3-0 advantage. Senior Patrick Chucri finished off State's Matt Armstrong 7-5, 6-4 on court five to seal the victory for the Rebels. Lindholm held off Bulldog Luc Maasdorp 6-4, 7-6(3) to make it 5-0.
In the feature match of the day between two All-Americans, Hartman, ranked No. 9 in the nation, battled 17th-ranked Romain Ambert. Hartman opened the match impressively, winning the first set 6-2. He jumped out to a huge lead in the second set and served for the match twice, before Ambert would tie it up at 5-5. Hartman broke and was finally able to hold serve for the win. The two are now 2-2 against each other, with Hartman winning the last two meetings.
Sophomore Catalin Gard, ranked No. 24 in singles, beat MSU's Rene Charles Combette 7-5, 7-6(3) to finish out the sweep.
"Coach (Sylvain) Guichard has done a good job keeping his team competing even though they've been plagued with injuries," Chadwick said. "They had a huge crowd and fought hard. We played great top to bottom. We look forward to hosting the SEC Championship and competing for the tournament title in front of the home crowd."
The SEC bracket will be released Sunday evening following the completion of competition Sunday afternoon. The Rebels earned a bye in the first round of the SEC Tournament for the 10th consecutive year. They will either be the No. 2 or 3 seed depending on the outcome of the Vanderbilt/South Carolina match on Sunday.
#5 Ole Miss 7
#40 Mississippi State 0
SINGLES
#1 Alex Hartman (OM) def. Romain Ambert (MSU) 6-2, 7-5
#2 Catalin Gard (OM) def. Rene Charles Combette (MSU) 7-5, 7-6(3)
#3 Paul Ciorascu (OM) def. Florent Girod (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
#4 Claes Lindholm (OM) def. Luc Massdorp (MSU) 6-4, 7-6(3)
#5 Patrick Chucri (OM) def. Matt Armstrong (MSU) 7-5, 6-4
#6 Karim Alayli (OM) def. Michael Hailey (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
DOUBLES
#1 Hartman-Lindholm (OM) def. Girod-Hailey (MSU) 8-3
#2 Ambert-Combette (MSU) def. Ciorascu-Gard (OM) 9-7
#3 Chucri-Alayli (OM) def. Armstrong-Maasdorp (MSU) 8-3
