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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
USTA Challenger Qualifying
Catalin Gard Makes Main Draw At Smith Barney Challenger
9/20/2004 | Men's Tennis
Sept. 20, 2004
COVINGTON, La. - Senior Catalin Gard of the Ole Miss men's tennis team showed why he is the No. 1 ranked collegiate player in the country, winning his match in the final round of qualifying at the Smith Barney Challenger Monday, to advance to the Main Draw. He will face the No. 4 seed, Jeff Salzenstein of the U.S., in the first round Tuesday, not before Noon.
Gard, defeated Alabama's No. 1 player in 2004, Stephen Mitchell, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round and then followed that up with a dominating 6-1, 6-2 win over Australia's Shannon Nettle. Salzenstein was a two-time All-American for Stanford from 1993-96 and led the Cardinal to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1995 and 1996. He is currently ranked in the top 120 in the latest ATP rankings.
The 2004 SEC Player of the Year, Gard posted a 10-1 record against the nation's best conference in 2004 to lead the Rebels to the overall SEC Championship, their third consecutive SEC Western Division title and a final national ranking of No. 5.
Former Rebel All-American Sebastien DeChaunac, who also was ranked No. 1 in college tennis during his illustrious career, lost in the opening round of the Main Draw Monday night to Amer Delic of the United States, 7-6, 7-6. Delic led his team to the NCAA team title in 2003 and won the individual singles title as well.
The Smith Barney Challenger features a 32-player draw, which includes seven players who played in the 2004 U.S. Open.
