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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Southern Intercollegiates
Rebel Netters Have Succesful First Weekend
9/21/2003 | Men's Tennis
Sept. 21, 2003
ATHENS, Ga. - In their first weekend of competition for the 2003-04 year, the Ole Miss men's tennis team picked up where it left off last year, experiencing success both in Lexington, Ky., at the Moore Invitational and here at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships.
At the Moore Invitational, junior Catalin Gard and senior Paul Ciorascu faced some of the top players in collegiate tennis in the Ranked Flight. Gard, ranked No. 10 in the nation, defeated a pair of Wildcats. On Friday, he defeated 66th-ranked Karim Benmansour 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3. Saturday, Gard took down No. 9 Jesse Witten, a former NCAA Finalist, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. Ciorascu, ranked No. 19, didn't fare as well against the top competition. He lost all three of his matches in straight sets, not what the Rebels were looking for, after he put up 39 wins a year ago to lead the team.
"Cat had a great weekend," head coach Billy Chadwick said. Witten is one of the best players in the game. Paul didn't work as hard in the offseason to stay in shape, and it showed. It's going to take him some time to get back in form. Once he gets back in top form, he'll be fine."
At the Southern Intercollegiate Championships, which features players from 25 schools around the South, Claes Lindholm, seeded No. 10, advanced to the quarterfinals in Division I Singles before losing to fourth-seeded Ludvic Walter of Duke 7-6(6), 7-6(2). After a first-round bye, Lindholm defeated Timo Siebert of the College of Charleston, 6-2, 6-3 in the round of 32. In the third round, Lindholm downed Vanderbilt's Zach Dailey, 6-2, 6-1.
In other Division I singles action, Karim Alayli defeated Lee Walker of Memphis 7-5, 6-3 in the first round before falling to John Isner of Georgia 6-1, 6-3. Isner was seeded No. 12.
In Division II Singles, freshman Fredrik Aarum made a solid debut for the Rebels, advancing to the semifinals, before falling to Brett Ross of Wake Forest. In his semifinal match, Aarum won the first set 6-4 and then lost the second set 6-1. He was leading Ross 2-1, when he cramped up and had to retire, after having been on the courts more than five hours Sunday. Aarum defeated Peter Rodrigues of Duke 6-3, 7-6(5) in the quarterfinals Sunday morning. He received a bye in the first round, and then defeated William & Mary's Alex Fish, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round. In the third round, Aarum downed Jason Varela of Georgia 6-3, 6-3.
In other Division II play, sophomore David Donaldson lost his first-round match to Trevor McLeod of Georgia Tech in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.
Ole Miss had two teams in the doubles competition, with Lindholm and Aarum reaching the quarterfinals. The duo decided not to play their quarterfinal match after Aarum retired in his semifinal singles match. In the first round, the pair defeated Jonathan Stokke and Peter Rodrigues of Duke 8-6. The pair, playing together for the first time this weekend, then knocked off the seventh seed, Matt Lockin and Lewis Smith of Vanderbilt 8-6.
Donaldson and Alayli lost in the first round of doubles 8-2, to Vanderbilt's Scott Brown and Zach Dailey, the tournament's sixth seed.
"Overall, we had a great weekend," Chadwick said. "Catalin showed why he is one of the premier players in the country. Claes played well, and Fredrik established himself as a player to watch. David has to get the most improved award for the weekend. He played a good match against a guy who eventually reached the semifinals. This is a great way to start off the season."
The Rebels will continue fall play Oct. 3-12 at the ICY Hot ITA All-American Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. The All-American is the first grand slam of the year.
