The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Tennessee Tech
Men's Tennis Posts Second Straight Shutout
2/5/2005 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 5, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 6 nationally-ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team posted its second consecutive shutout to begin the season, with a 7-0 win over Tennessee Tech Saturday afternoon before a crowd of more than 200 at the Gillom Sports Center.
The Rebels (2-0) dominated Tennessee Tech (0-3) in doubles and never let up on their way to their 16h straight regular season home win. The streak dates back to April 6, 2003. The team also improved to 46-3 when winning the doubles point dating back to the 2002 season.
Freshman Erling Tveit gave Ole Miss a 2-0 lead with his 6-3, 6-4 win over TTU's Borja Zarco at No. 3 singles.
Senior Catalin Gard, the 2004 SEC Player of the Year, put the Rebels up 3-0 by downing Golden Eagle Shunsuke Shimizu, 6-2, 6-2 at the top spot. Gard, ranked No. 1 in the nation, improved to 11-2 on the year and needs just 14 wins to become the third Rebel to record 100 career victories.
Sophomore Eric Claesson cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Michele Panzeri at No. 2 singles to clinch the match for the Rebels and grab his 10th win of the year.
The Rebs other senior, Karim Alayli, found himself down 2-0 to start his match at No. 6 singles, but he would lose just one other game the rest of the match to post a 6-2, 6-1 win over Tech's Juan Pablo Gomez.
One of three freshmen on the Rebel squad in 2005, Jakob Klaeson looked impressive once again, downing Javier Saab 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 4 position to make it 6-0 Ole Miss.
Tennessee Tech did its best to avoid the sweep, as Golden Eagle Tiago Gigioli won the first set (6-3) against Rebel junior Juan Pablo Di Cesare at No. 5 singles. But, Di Cesare won the second set 6-1 and then claimed a supertiebreaker in the third, 10-4, for the final 7-0 score.
"The guys did a great job again of getting off to a good start with the doubles and never letting up," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "We would like to thank the crowd for coming out. We encourage everyone to come down to Jackson Thursday and see a great match between two of the top teams in college tennis. Mississippi State has added some talented newcomers as well, so it should be an exciting match."
The competition heats up, as the Rebels head to Jackson, Miss., Thursday, to face arch-rival Mississippi State in the annual River Hills Mississippi Cup. The Rebels will be looking to win their sixth consecutive Mississippi Cup and their 14th straight against the Bulldogs. To order tickets to the event, which begins at 5 p.m. at the River Hills Club, call (601) 987-4438.
#6 Ole Miss 7
Tennessee Tech 0
DOUBLES
#1 Gard/Alayli (OM) def. Shimizu/Saab (TTU) 8-3
#2 Claesson/Di Cesare (OM) def. Gigioli/Zarco (TTU) 8-0
#3 Tveit/Klaeson (OM) def. Panzeri/Gomez (TTU) 8-2
SINGLES
#1 Catalin Gard (OM) def. Shunsuke Shimizu (TTU) 6-2, 6-2
#2 Eric Claesson (OM) def. Michele Panzeri (TTU) 6-2, 6-2
#3 Erling Tveit (OM) def. Borja Zarco (TTU) 6-3, 6-4
#4 Jakob Klaeson (OM) def. Javier Saab (TTU) 6-2, 6-1
#5 Juan Pablo Di Cesare (OM) def. Tiago Gigioli (TTU) 3-6, 6-1, 10-4
#6 Karim Alayli (OM) def. Juan Pablo Gomez (TTU) 6-2, 6-1
