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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Netter Gard To Compete In National Indoor
11/2/2004 | Men's Tennis
Nov. 2, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss men's tennis senior Catalin Gard, ranked No. 1 in the nation, will compete in the second national tournament of the year, the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., Nov. 4-7.
Gard, the top seed in the national indoor, highlights a field that includes the singles and doubles champions from the season's first national tournaments, the Icy Hot/ITA Men's and Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships.
The 2004 SEC Player of the Year, Gard reached the final of the year's first major without dropping a set. In the final, Gard defeated the 2004 Pac-10 Player of the Year, Sam Warburg of Stanford, in three sets to win his first national title.
Gard became the fourth Rebel to win a national title, joining former All-American Mohamed Ridaoui, winner of the 1991 National Clay Court Championships, and 1995 NCAA Doubles Champions Mahesh Bhupathi and Ali Hamadeh.
Gard will be looking to become the first player to win the ITA All-American and National Indoor Championships in the same season.
The 2004 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, the nation's premier collegiate indoor tennis tournaments for Division I men and women, will be hosted by Michigan at its Varsity Tennis Center for the second straight year. The event features a 32-player singles field and 16-team doubles field for men and women, including: champions from Wilson/ITA Regional Championships held across the country during the past two weeks, the ITA National Small College champions, the champions of the Icy Hot/ITA Men's and Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships and at-large and wild card selections made last week by the ITA National Tournament Committee. Overall, more than 7,000 players from nearly 600 schools participate annually in the ITA Regional and National Intercollegiate Championships.
To follow Gard as he goes for his second national title, go to www.itatennis.com. First round singles and doubles matches take place on Thursday. Doubles begin at 8 a.m. CT and are followed by men's singles starting at 11:15 a.m. (and continuing through the remainder of the day). A complete schedule of play is listed on the website. Semifinal and final matches will be broadcast live on the internet at www.RadioTennis.com.