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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
ITA All-American Championships
Rebel Netter Falls In Qualifying Tournament At All-American
10/5/2004 | Men's Tennis
Oct. 5, 2004
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Ole Miss men's tennis sophomore Eric Claesson finished play at the Icy Hot/ITA All-American Championships Tuesday, losing in the second round of the qualifying tournament at the Champions Club.
Claesson dropped a 6-1, 6-2 decision to Florida newcomer Greg Oullette in the second round. Oullette recently won the Southern Intercollegiates and remained perfect this fall with a 10-0 record.
"The match was a lot closer than the score shows," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "Eric played pretty well. He had chances in several games but couldn't capitalize."
The Icy Hot/ITA Men's All-American Championships include 192-singles player and 96-doubles team prequalifying tournaments played October 1-3 which fed into 128-player and 64-doubles team qualifying tournaments October 4-6. The 64-player, 32-doubles team main draw takes place Oct. 7-10. The singles tournament fields can run over 350 players, making it the largest collegiate event of the season.
Senior All-American Catalin Gard, puts his preseason No. 1 ranking to the test on Thursday as the No. 1 seed in the main draw. Gard, the 2004 SEC Player of the Year, will attempt to win the first national title of his illustrious career.
At last year's All-American Championships, Gard reached the second round before having to retire due to injury.
The Icy Hot/ ITA Men's All-American Championships offer the first national singles and doubles titles of the season, and are followed by the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in November and the season-ending NCAA Championships in May. All told, 46 of the top 50 players in the preseason ITA singles rankings are competing in this year's main draw, making it one of the premier events of the year.
To follow Gard at the All-American, go to www.itatennis.com.
ICY HOT/ITA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS - Chattanooga, Tenn.
Qualifying Singles
Second round - Greg Oullette (UF) def. Eric Claesson (OM) 6-1, 6-2.
