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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
SEC Indoor Championships
Reb Duo Ends Run In SEC Indoor Doubles Final
1/19/2004 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 19, 2004
ATHENS, Ga. - Ole Miss men's tennis players Paul Ciorascu and Catalin Gard came up short in their bid to win the SEC Indoor Doubles Championship Monday, falling to Auburn's Gabor Zolton Pelva and Alex Schweizer 8-3 at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts.
The Tiger tandem broke the serve of Ole Miss in the second game to take a 2-0 lead, but the Rebels got back on serve with a break in game three. Auburn took a 3-1 advantage in the fourth game and never looked back, breaking the Ole Miss serve again in the 10th game.
This marked the 10th time in the last 12 years that the Rebels have had a finalist in either the singles or doubles event at the SEC Indoor Championships. Ole Miss claimed singles titles in 1988, 1995, 1996 and 1998 and won the doubles title in 1994.
Ole Miss had two players reach the quarterfinals in singles. Ciorascu lost to tournament finalist Zach Dailey of Vanderbilt, and fellow senior Claes Lindholm bowed out to the other finalist Chad Harris (Vandy) in his quarterfinal match. Vanderbilt, 2002 NCAA Runner-up, is ranked No. 3 in the nation.
Freshmen Eric Claesson and Fredrik Aarum both had solid tournaments in their first taste of SEC competition. Claesson won two matches to advance to the main draw, including beating Vanderbilt senior Lewis Smith. Aarum defeated Kentucky senior Rahim Esmail and then came within a couple points of knocking off Florida's top player in the second round.
The SEC Indoor Championships annually features some of the nation's best players and this year was no different. In the preseason ITA National Rankings, the SEC boast four teams in the top 10 and seven of the top 25 singles players.
"We are very proud of Cat and Paul for making the finals of the SEC Indoor Championships," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "The SEC this year, is perhaps the strongest it's ever been. Right now we have four teams in the top 10, but by the end of the year we could have seven or eight. I was impressed with our doubles play overall. We are extremely excited about the newcomers. Eric Claesson had a great debut, and Fredrik Aarum played strong in his first major SEC competition."
The Rebels will open the dual match campaign Sunday, Jan. 25 against Tennessee-Chattanooga at 1 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center, before battling arch-rival Mississippi State in the annual Mississippi Cup in Jackson on Jan. 29.
SEC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS - ATHENS, Ga.
DOUBLES FINAL
Gabor Zolton Pelva/Alex Schweizer (AU) def. Catalin Gard/Paul Ciorascu (OM) 8-3.
