The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Vanderbilt
Rebel Netters Down Vanderbilt 7-0 In SEC Opener
3/4/2005 | Men's Tennis
March 4, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss men's tennis team came into their Southeastern Conference opener Friday, looking to begin defense of their SEC Championship on a winning note and beat a Vanderbilt team who had eliminated the Rebels from the 2004 NCAA Championships.
Ole Miss, ranked No. 5 in the nation, did both, downing the 31st-ranked Commodores (8-2) 7-0 Friday afternoon at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, to avenge last years' 4-0 loss to Vanderbilt in the NCAA Regional final. With the win, the Rebels improved to 9-1 overall and 1-0 in the SEC.
The Rebels got off to a solid start in the match, by taking the doubles with wins at Nos. 2 and 3. Fredrik Aarum and Erling Tveit dominated Vanderbilt at No. 2, 8-2. With the No. 1 match all square, Freshmen Bram ten Berge and Jakob Klaeson finished off the Vandy duo of Matt Lockin and Jordan Magarik 8-4 at No. 3 to clinch the point. The Rebels are now 52-3 when they win the doubles point dating back to the 2002 season.
The team never let up after taking the doubles, on their way to winning their 19th straight regular season home match dating back to April 6, 2003. Ole Miss has now won 99 of their last 109 matches at home.
"We were able to take advantage of a team trying to find their way after their coach quit two weeks ago," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "We had played more matches outside which was an advantage. We played well in doubles, and the guys did a great job of never letting up."
Tveit, downed Vanderbilt's Jason Pinsky, who is regarded as one of the top freshman in the country, 6-3, 6-2 on court three to give Ole Miss a 2-0 lead. Tveit moved his dual match record to 8-0 overall, 4-0 at No. 3 singles.
Senior All-American Catalin Gard, ranked No. 4 in the nation, could have easily looked past his opponent Friday, with a huge match-up at No. 1 singles coming on Sunday, but he did not, defeating 40th-ranked Scott Brown 6-4, 6-3 to increase the Rebels' lead to 3-0. Gard will enter Sunday's showdown against Kentucky's Jesse Witten, ranked No. 3 in the nation, with a 8-1 record at the top spot and needing seven wins to record his 100th career victory.
Moments after Gard made it 3-0, loud cheers rang from the top pavilion as junior Juan Pablo Di Cesare finished his 6-2, 6-2 win over Commodore Andy Mack to clinch the victory. With the win, Di Cesare moved to 6-0 at No. 6 singles.
"I started out a little nervous with it being the first SEC match, but then I got into it and was fine," Di Cesare said. "We are very deep. It's a good feeling when you're on the court, to know that everybody is out there to win. It helps your confidence. We can be happy about this win, but we have to get ready to face a very good Kentucky team and try to go 2-0."
Klaeson VU's Magarik 7-5, 6-2 at No. 5 singles to make it 5-0. Wanting to complete the sweep, Eric Claesson and Aarum won two supertiebreakers on courts two and four respectively for the final 7-0 score.
Sunday, the Rebels will host 12th-ranked Kentucky at 1 p.m. The Wildcats lost their conference opener, 5-2 to Mississippi State. The Rebels defeated the Wildcats twice last year, including a 5-2 win on the final day of the regular season in Lexington, to capture the SEC Championship. Gard and Witten came into the match with identical records in league play, and Gard came out on top in the third set to secure SEC Player of the Year honors.
"Kentucky will be another tough match," Chadwick said. "They are coming in with revenge on their minds. They came into last year's regular season match with a chance to share the title if they won, and we beat them at their place."
DOUBLES
#1 Gard/Claesson (OM) vs. Brown/Pinsky (VU) 5-5, sus.
#2 Tveit/Aarum (OM) def. Dufaux/Preston (VU) 8-2
#3 Klaeson/ten Berge (OM) def. Lockin/Magarik (VU) 8-4
SINGLES
#1 Catalin Gard (OM) def. Scott Brown (VU) 6-4, 6-3
#2 Eric Claesson (OM) def. Matt Lockin (VU) 6-3, 4-6, 10-7
#3 Erling Tveit (OM) def. Jason Pinsky (VU) 6-3, 6-2
#4 Fredrik Aarum (OM) def. Ryan Preston (VU) 6-7, 6-4, 10-3
#5 Jakob Klaeson (OM) def. Jordan Magarik (VU) 7-5, 6-2
#6 Juan Pablo Di Cesare (OM) def. Andy Mack (VU) 6-2, 6-2
