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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
ITA All-American Championships
Rebel Netter Gard Rolls Into Quarterfinals At ITA All-American
10/8/2004 | Men's Tennis
Oct. 8, 2004
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Ole Miss men's tennis senior and No. 1 seed Catalin Gard continued his stellar play at the Icy Hot/ITA All-American Championships Friday, dominating 17th-ranked Conor Niland of California to advance to the final eight.
With the 6-1, 6-1 win, Gard beat 17th-ranked Niland for the second time in two years. He also defeated Niland in the first round of the National Indoor Championships last November, 6-4, 6-4. The 2004 SEC Player of the Year will face the No. 8 seed, Pedro Rico of Pepperdine, in the quarterfinals at 9 a.m., CST, Saturday, in a rematch of last year's NCAA first round. In that match, Rico edged Gard 7-5, 7-6(4).
"Cat played extremely well," head coach Billy Chadwick said. We are very proud of him for getting to the final eight and beating the No. 1 player from Cal, soundly. We will see who has worked the hardest the last four months when Cat meets Pedro in the quarters."
Gard, who will be making his first national quarterfinal appearance, becomes the second Rebel to advance to at least the quarterfinals at the All-American in four years. Former All-American Alex Hartman reached the quarters at the 2001 tournament.
Gard joins Stanford's Sam Warburg, the No. 2 seed, as the only two players who have not dropped a set in three matches. The SEC leads all conferences with three players in the final eight, including Georgia's John Isner and LSU's Ken Skupski.
By virtue of reaching the quarters, Gard has qualified automatically for the Nov. 4-7 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., the second national tournament of the season.
This is the first of three national tournaments held during the collegiate tennis season. The second tournaments are the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships Nov. 4-7 at the University of Michigan, followed by the season-ending NCAA Championships in May.
The Icy Hot/ITA All-American main draw featured 46 of the top 50 players in the preseason ITA National Rankings.
ICY HOT/ITA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS - Chattanooga, Tenn.
Round of 16 - Catalin Gard (OM) def. Conor Niland (CAL) 6-1, 6-1.
