The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Southern Miss
No. 2 Rebel Netters Sweep Southern Mississippi 7-0
2/25/2004 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 25, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 2 nationally-ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team swept visiting Southern Mississippi 7-0 Wednesday afternoon at the Gillom Sports Center. The match had to be moved indoors due to inclement weather.
Ole Miss (6-1) got up on the Golden Eagles early in the doubles. Southern Miss (1-3) would battle back, before the Rebels would close them out to take the point for the 1-0 lead. After an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles, Catalin Gard and Paul Ciorascu defeated USM's David Canudas and Chris Rea 8-6 at the No. 1 position. Down 4-2, the Golden Eagle duo won three straight to take a 5-4 lead. Gard and Ciorascu, ranked No. 14 in the nation, won four of the next five games for the 8-6 victory, which moved them to 5-1 at No. 1 doubles.
The Rebels dominated in singles, not allowing Southern Miss a single set in any of the six matches. Senior Claes Lindholm, ranked No. 30 in the nation, needed barely an hour to down Marc Lux 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. He improved to 7-0 at No. 3 singles and has now won seven in a row and 12 of his last 13 matches.
Ciorascu, ranked No. 85 in the country, dominated his opponent, Juan Garzon, 6-0, 6-2, at the No. 2 position to make it 3-0. He is now 5-2 on the year. Gard, ranked No. 15 in singles, clinched the win with his 6-2, 6-1 win over Canudas at the top spot.
"We got up a break early on them in doubles, but then we let up," head coach Billy Chadwick said. We had to work hard to get the doubles point. We knew it would be tough, because they (USM) played Auburn tough on the road. We did a great job up and down the lineup in singles of taking care of business."
Juan Pablo Di Cesare defeated Rea 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4 singles, Fredrik Aarum beat Reid Bourgeois 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot, and Eric Claesson registered a 6-3, 6-1 win over Dylan Mezey at the No. 6 position to complete the sweep.
"We would also like to thank the crowd for getting out in the nasty weather and supporting the team," Chadwick added. "It makes a difference when you have people behind you. We would like to see even more people come out Saturday to watch us, and hopefully the weather will cooperate."
The Rebels will host Tennessee Tech Saturday at Noon at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, hoping to play outside for the first time this season.
#2 Ole Miss 7
Southern Miss 0
DOUBLES
#1 Gard/Ciorascu (OM) def. Canudas/Rea (USM) 8-6
#2 Lindholm/Claesson (OM) def. Bourgeois/Thomas Funke (USM) 8-3
#3 Di Cesare/Aarum (OM) def. Mezey/Lux (USM) 8-5
SINGLES
#1 Catalin Gard (OM) def. David Canudas (USM) 6-2, 6-1
#2 Paul Ciorascu (OM) def. Juan Garzon (USM) 6-0, 6-2
#3 Claes Lindholm (OM) def. Marc Lux (USM) 6-0, 6-1
#4 Juan Pablo Di Cesare (OM) def. Chris Rea (USM) 6-3, 6-2
#5 Fredrik Aarum (OM) def. Reid Bourgeois (USM) 6-3, 6-2
#6 Eric Claesson (OM) def. Dylan Mezey (USM) 6-3, 6-1
