The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
National Collegiate Tennis Classic
Rebel Netters Advance To Doubles Semifinals At NCTC
1/14/2006 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 14, 2006
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Eric Claesson and Juan Pablo Di Cesare of the No. 6 nationally-ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team advanced to the semifinals of doubles at the National Collegiate Tennis Classic Saturday night. In singles, Claesson advanced to the semifinals before losing.
Claesson and Di Cesare defeated the Virginia team of Somdev Devvarman and Nick Meros, 8-5. They will face UCLA's Benjamin Kohlloeffel and Philip Gruendler in the semifinals Sunday morning at 11:30 CT.
In singles, Claesson, ranked No. 22 nationally, defeated Virginia's Rylan Rizza, who was ranked among the top 20 in the fall, 7-6, 6-4, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Claesson faced the nation's No. 3 ranked player and the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Kohlloeffel of the defending NCAA Champion Bruins. Kohlloeffel came away with a 6-2, 6-2 win.
"Eric continues to improve with each match," assistant coach Jeff Clark said. "The past two days he has defeated players who have been ranked in the top 10. He is definitely establishing himself as a top collegiate player.
"Pablo played great in doubles. He dominated at the net and served very well. The two are playing as good as they did in 2004 when they were 4-0 together."
NATIONAL COLLEGIATE TENNIS CLASSIC - Palm Springs, Calif.
SINGLES
Quarterfinals - Eric Claesson (OM) def. Rylan Rizza (UVA) 7-6, 6-4. Semifinals - Kohlloeffel (UCLA) def. Claesson (OM) 6-2, 6-2.
DOUBLES
Quarterfinals - Claesson/Di Cesare (OM) def. Devvarman/Meros (UVA) 8-5.
SINGLES CONSOLATION - Jarrett Chirico (UVA) def. Di Cesare (OM) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
