Men's Tennis To Host NCAA Regional

April 30, 2003

OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 8 nationally-ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team earned the No. 9 seed overall in the 2003 NCAA Tennis Championships and will host one of the 16 regionals May 10-11 at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.

Coming to Oxford for the four-team regional will be Auburn, Georgia Tech and the College of Charleston. The Rebels, seeded No. 1, will face the No. 4 seed, College of Charleston, while Auburn, seeded No. 2, will meet the No. 3 seed, Georgia Tech in the first round. The winner of the regional advances to the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" in Athens, Ga. May 17-20.

Ole Miss is making its 10th consecutive NCAA appearance and 12th overall. It also marks the fourth time in the last five years for the Rebels to host a regional. The Rebels will meet the College of Charleston in the second match on Saturday, May 10, at 1 p.m.

The Rebels, who captured their second consecutive SEC Western Division Championship this year, finished the regular season with an 18-4 overall record. They are led by All-SEC first-team selection, Alex Hartman, who heads into the NCAA Championships ranked No. 7 in singles. Three other All-SEC performers, Catalin Gard, Paul Ciorascu and Claes Lindholm, make up a strong 1-2-3-4 punch for Ole Miss in the lineup.

"We are excited to be hosting a regional again," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "To go into postseason play as a top 10 seed, is a great feeling and an outstanding accomplishment for our team. The guys worked really hard all season to have the opportunity to host. We have three strong teams coming in. We look forward to playing at home in front of a great crowd like we had at the SEC Championships."

The Rebels' first round opponent, the College of Charleston, won the Southern Conference Tournament Championship and received an automatic bid to the NCAAs. The match marked the first time that Charleston had advanced to the finals of the conference tournament. The Cougars shared the regular-season title with East Tennessee State this year.

The first match on Saturday, May 10 will feature Georgia Tech against Auburn at 9:30 a.m. The Yellow Jackets finished the regular season ranked No. 38 in the nation with a 12-9 overall record. Auburn ended the regular season ranked No. 23 with a 15-9 record. The Tigers are led by one of the nation's top players, Rameez Junaid, who is ranked No. 14 in singles.

The Southeastern Conference once again showed why it is considered the top conference in the nation on Wednesday, as 11 SEC schools were invited to the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee was the only school that didn't make it. Four of the SEC's 11 teams were announced as host sites. Florida, Vanderbilt and Kentucky are also hosting a regional.

The NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship selections will be announced Thursday with Ole Miss expecting to get three individuals in singles and one team in the doubles.

For information on tickets to the regional, fans can call 662-915-7167 or toll-free 1-888-732-8587.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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