The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Kentucky
Rebel Netters Take Down Kentucky To Capture SEC Championship
4/18/2004 | Men's Tennis
April 18, 2004
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The No. 5 nationally-ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team captured the overall SEC Championship Sunday, winning five of the six singles to claim a 5-2 victory over 16th-ranked Kentucky at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center. The Rebels will enter the upcoming SEC Championships as the No. 1 seed.
With the win, the Rebels improved to 19-3 overall and finished 9-2 in the SEC. The Rebels won their second regular season championship. They also won the regular season in 1999, when they advanced to the NCAA Final Four. In 1996 and '97, the Rebels shared the overall title. As a result of LSU losing to Florida on Friday, the Rebels came into the Kentucky (17-8, 7-4) match as SEC Western Division Champions for the third year in a row.
"This was a very close match between two very good teams," Chadwick said. "The doubles point was decided by a tiebreaker and then we had to win four three-set matches in singles. Kentucky was playing for a share of the SEC, and they came out fired up. Paul really gave us a lift when he won quickly at No. 2. The bottom of the lineup was huge today. I am proud of the team for rising to the occasion after losing two matches on the road, and winning the final two to close out the championship.
"This championship was a total team effort. We got great support from Chancellor (Robert) Khayat, Pete Boone and everyone associated with the program. We especially want to thank the fans for helping us go undefeated at home (12-0). The support that we got at home propelled us to the title."
Ole Miss switched its doubles teams up again, with Claes Lindholm and Eric Claesson playing No. 1 and Paul Ciorascu and Catalin Gard at No. 2. Lindholm and Claesson lost 8-5 and then Juan Pablo Di Cesare and Karim Alayi teamed up at No. 3 to post a 8-4 win. That left Gard and Ciorascu battling Evan Austin and Alex Hume on court two. The Reb pair dug themselves out of an early hole to pull even at 7-7. The match went to a tiebreaker, but the Kentucky duo hung on to clinch the first point of the match.
Rebel senior Ciorascu said he had no desire to share the title with any other team. He wasted little time in defeating UK's Austin 6-0, 6-3 at No. 3 singles to make it 1-1.
Kentucky's Tigran Martirosyan defeated Rebel senior Lindholm 6-3, 7-6 to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. But, the rest of the match came down to three-setters.
Ole Miss has won all season long on the strength of its depth, and Sunday the bottom of the lineup came through. Freshman Fredrik Aarum registered a 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 win over Wildcat senior Rahim Esmail at the No. 5 spot to square the match. Aarum improved to 14-3 in dual matches and finished his first season in the SEC at 8-1.
Di Cesare gave the Rebels a 3-2 lead with a huge win on court four against UK's Nate Emge. Di Cesare claimed the first set 6-4, and then lost the second set 6-1. In the final set, Di Cesare gained a break at 3-2 and held on to win 6-2.
Claesson, the Rebels other freshman, stepped up big in the final set on court six versus UK's Hume. Claesson got the first set 6-3, but Hume stormed back to take the second 6-1. Claesson got a break and served for the match at 5-3, but Hume rallied to win two straight games. Claesson answered, breaking Hume and holding serve to clinch the SEC title for the Rebels. Claesson is now 11-2 at No. 6 singles and finished 8-3 in the SEC.
In a battle between two of the top players in the country, Gard, ranked No. 4, outlasted Kentucky's Jesse Witten, ranked No. 8, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3), at the top spot to complete the scoring. Gard improved to 19-3 at No. 1 singles and finished the year 10-1 in the SEC. He posted the second best record ever in the SEC for a Rebel.
"We are extremely pleased that Cat was able to close out his match." Chadwick said. "To go 10-1 in the toughest league in the country at No. 1 singles is an outstanding accomplishment. He should be the favorite to win SEC Player of the Year."
The Rebels will head to Nashville, Tenn., this week to begin their quest for the SEC Tournament Championship. As the No. 1 seed, the Rebels will receive a first-round bye and will meet the winner of the #8/Auburn/#9 Arkansas match Friday not before 9:45 a.m.
DOUBLES
#1 Witten/Esmail (UK) def. Lindholm/Claesson (OM) 8-5
#2 Austin/Hume (UK) def. Gard/Ciorascu (OM) 9-8
#3 Karim Alayli/Di Cesare (OM) def. Emge/Martirosyan (UK) 8-4
SINGLES
#1 Catalin Gard (OM) def. Jesse Witten (UK) 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3)
#2 Tigran Martirosyan (UK) def. Claes Lindholm (OM) 6-3, 7-6
#3 Paul Ciorascu (OM) def. Evan Austin (UK) 6-0, 6-3
#4 Juan Pablo Di Cesare (OM) def. Nate Emge (UK) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
#5 Fredrik Aarum (OM) def. Rahim Esmail (UK) 6-1, 1-6, 6-2
#6 Eric Claesson (OM) def. Alex Hume (UK) 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
