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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Men's Tennis Ends Season In Top 10 Again
5/30/2003 | Men's Tennis
May 30, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. - For the ninth time in the last 10 years, the Ole Miss men's tennis team ended the season ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation. The SEC West Champion Rebels finished the 2003 campaign at No. 8.
"We are very proud of this team," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "We had an outstanding season, winning the SEC West Championship, hosting the NCAA first and second rounds and advancing to the quarterfinals. We have established ourselves as one of the most consistent programs in the nation, and we look forward to another great season next year."
The Rebels (21-5) did not have a loss outside the top 11 and defeated 11 teams ranked in the final top 25. They won the SEC West for the second year in a row and hosted an NCAA regional for the fourth time in five years. The Rebels reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the sixth time in the history of the program.
The SEC led the nation with nine teams in the top 25, including three in the top 10. NCAA Champion Illinois ended the year ranked No. 1 followed by Florida, Stanford, Baylor, Vanderbilt, UCLA, California, Ole Miss, Duke and Minnesota. Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, LSU and Auburn round out the SEC schools in the top 25. Once again, the SEC was a dominant force in the NCAA Championships, qualifying 11 teams and sending four on to the "Sweet Sixteen".
It was also a banner year individually for Ole Miss as several Rebels ended the year ranked nationally. Senior Alex Hartman ended his final campaign as a Rebel ranked No. 7 in the nation. He became just the second Rebel ever to record 100 wins in a career and finished with 105, while playing at No. 1 singles all four years. Hartman earned All-SEC first team honors in addition to being named the Southeast Region Senior of the Year. Off the court, Hartman was a finalist for the 2003 Boyd McWhorter SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award and was recently named to the Verizon/CoSIDA District VI Academic All-America Team.
Sophomore Catalin Gard had a sensational debut as a freshman last year, and he continued his stellar play this year, ending the season ranked No. 19 in the nation. With a 30-11 overall record, Gard earned All-SEC second team honors.
In his best season as a Rebel, junior Paul Ciorascu posted a 39-11 record to end the year ranked No. 34. He went 21-2 in dual matches to lead the team and earned All-SEC second team honors.
Hartman and Claes Lindholm completed the year ranked No. 22 in doubles. The pair posted a final record of 20-11. Lindholm also earned All-SEC first team honors.
"These four guys were instrumental in the success of our team," Chadwick said. "Alex enjoyed an outstanding career at Ole Miss, and he will be missed greatly. We are excited about next year with Cat, Paul and Claes returning to lead the way."