The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
NCAA Individual Championships
Gard Falls In Quarterfinals At NCAA Singles
5/28/2005 | Men's Tennis
May 28, 2005
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Ole Miss tennis senior Catalin Gard ended his stay here with a loss to Pierrick Ysern of San Diego in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championships Saturday.
Gard, seeded No. 4 in the 64-player draw, lost a tough first set tiebreaker, in which he held two set points, 7-5. Despite having several game points in just about every game in the second set, Ysern, ranked No. 10 in the nation, came out on top 6-0 to move into the semifinals.
"Cat had chances to win the first set, but the other guy held on," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "You could see in the second set that Ysern had fresher legs, but Cat still had opportunities."
This marked the second meeting between the two players this year. Gard won the first ever meeting, a straight set win in the semifinals of the ITA All-American Championships in the fall.
With the loss, Gard ends his final season at Ole Miss with a 36-7 record. The 2004 SEC Player of the Year, Gard completed an illustrious career with a 112-30 overall record, the second most wins in the history of the program, behind former All-American Johan Hede (135).
This season Gard led the Rebels to a final national ranking of No. 3, the NCAA Final Four, their second consecutive overall SEC Championship and fourth straight Western Division title.
"It was a great run with the team portion and the individual part of the NCAAs," Chadwick said. "Cat enjoyed an outstanding career here and goes down as one of the best ever to play at Ole Miss. We appreciate all he has done for the University and our program, and we wish him well at the next level. This has been another banner year for the Rebels, and we look forward to next year."
NCAA SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS - COLLEGE STATION, Texas
Quarterfinals - Pierrick Ysern (SD) def. Catalin Gard (OM) 7-6(5), 6-0
