The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
NCAA Regionals - Binghamton
Men's Tennis Advances To NCAA Second Round
5/15/2004 | Men's Tennis
May 15, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 8 overall seed Ole Miss men's tennis team showed why they are ranked No. 5 in the nation and SEC Champions, downing the champions of the America East Conference, Binghamton, 4-0 Saturday morning to advance to the second round of the NCAA Championships. They will face Vanderbilt, who defeated Oregon 4-0, Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Rebels (22-4), making their 11th straight NCAA appearance, advanced to the second round of the NCAAs for the 12th consecutive time. Binghamton ends its season at 13-7 overall.
"The guys did a very good job of staying focused in practice and putting pressure on themselves. It was good to get this win under our belts, and now we must focus on the next one, whomever it is. We are in a good position, but it will be a tough assignment Sunday.
"We appreciate the crowd for coming out. We had a great crowd for Saturday morning and a chance of rain. We should have a packed house tomorrow for the final."
Ole Miss won at No .3 and 1 doubles to take the opening point. Catalin Gard and Karim Alayli teamed up to down Brian O'Connor and Edwin Gerard, 8-1 at the No. 3 position. Court one was locked in a battle at 5-5, when Paul Ciorascu and Claes Lindholm broke Dan Hanegby and Steve Spencer to go up 6-5. Ciorascu served out with an ace on match point to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead. The Rebels improved to 44-3 when they win the doubles point dating back to the 2002 season.
Freshman Eric Claesson gave Ole Miss a 2-0 lead as he dominated BU's Juan Garcia 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6 singles. Juan Pablo Di Cesare cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Spencer at No. 4 singles to make it 3-0 Ole Miss.
Junior All-American Catalin Gard finished off an impressive match against the America East player of the Year, Dan Hanegby, 6-1, 6-1 to clinch the Rebel win. Gard, the SEC Player of the Year, has won 19 of his last 20.
"Cat has been phenomenal all year long. He has worked hard the last three weeks and he showed it today. It was impressive because the player he was playing today, was the player of the year in the America East Conference."
The Rebels improved to 13-0 at home this season and 8-1 all-time at home in NCAA competition. The winner of Sunday's match will earn a trip to the "Sweet Sixteen" in Tulsa. Ole Miss has been to the "Sweet Sixteen" nine times.
DOUBLES
#1 Ciorascu/Lindholm (OM) def. Hanegby/Spencer (BU) 8-5
#2 Di Cesare/Claesson (OM) vs. Mourad/Garcia (BU) 5-2, BU, sus.
#3 Gard/Alayli (OM) def. O'Connor/Gerard (BU) 8-1
SINGLES
#1 Catalin Gard (OM) def. Dan Hanegby (BU) 6-1, 6-1
#2 Paul Ciorascu (OM) vs. Richemn Mourad (BU) 5-7, 3-2, sus.
#3 Claes Lindholm (OM) vs. Brian O'Connor (BU) 7-5, sus.
#4 Juan Pablo Di Cesare (OM) def. Steve Spencer (BU) 6-1, 6-1
#5 Fredrik Aarum (OM) vs. Edwin Gerard (BU) 6-2, 4-0, sus.
#6 Eric Claesson (OM) def. Juan Garcia (BU) 6-0, 6-1
