The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
South Carolina - National Team Indoor
Rebel Netters Advance To Quarterfinals At National Team Indoor
2/17/2006 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 17, 2006
SEATTLE - The No. 5 seeded Ole Miss men's tennis team handed the 11th seed, South Carolina, a 4-1 loss in the first round of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Friday morning at the Seattle Tennis Club, to advance to the quarterfinals where they will face No. 4 Pepperdine. The battle between two of the top five teams in the nation, will take place Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Ole Miss (5-0) advances to the USTA/ITA quarterfinals for the third straight year, fourth time in five years and tenth time overall. South Carolina (6-2) will face Florida State in the consolation bracket.
As has been the case several times in recent years, Ole Miss lost the doubles point, but rebounded in singles for the win. The Rebels won at No. 3 doubles, 8-1, but the Gamecocks took the No. 2 spot 8-5, and the No. 1 spot 9-7, for the first point.
It didn't take long for the Rebels to recover in singles after playing nearly two hours in doubles.
Sophomore Jakob Klaeson dominated his opponent, South Carolina's Adam Adler, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6 singles to even the match. Newcomer Robbye Poole picked up his fourth straight set win of the season to improve to 4-0 in dual matches, as he topped Gamecock Dima Babenko, 6-1, 4-1, ret., at No. 5 singles. That made it 2-1 Rebels.
Erling Tveit, ranked No. 26 in the nation, has shown that he is more than capable of taking over at No.1 singles this season, coming into the National Team Indoor with a 4-0 record. The sophomore did it again Friday, dominating USC senior Tom Eklund, 6-1, 6-4 to increase the lead to 3-1. Tveit has won 12 of his last 13 matches dating back to the fall.
Senior Juan Pablo Di Cesare added the clinching point with his 7-5, 6-1 win over 83rd-ranked Geraldo Knorr at No. 4 singles.
When the match was clinched, sophomore Bram ten Berge was up a set and leading 4-3 in the second at No. 3 singles, and Eric Claesson was down a set and all even in the second.
"This was a hard fought match by both teams," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "The guys did a great job of coming out strong in singles and putting them in a hole early. Jakob and Robbye dominated. Erling just continues to impress at No. 1, and Pablo closed the door.
"Obviously Pepperdine is a great team, and it will be a tough challenge. We are looking forward to it."
Saturday's match will feature live scoring and live video. To access both, go to www.olemisssports.com and click on the links.
DOUBLES
#1 Supeko/Knorr (USC) def. Tveit/Claesson (OM) 9-7
#2 Cuellar/Eklund (USC) def. ten Berge/Klaeson (OM) 8-5
#3 Di Cesare/Poole (OM) def. Stoddard/Adler (USC) 8-1
SINGLES
#1 Erling Tveit (OM) def. Tom Eklund (USC) 6-1, 6-4
#2 Eric Claesson (OM) vs. Jaime Cuellar (USC) 4-6, 2-2
#3 Bram ten Berge (OM) vs. Yevgeny Sapeko (USC) 6-4, 4-3
#4 Juan Pablo Di Cesare (OM) def. Geraldo Knorr (USC) 7-5, 6-1
#5 Robbye Poole (OM) def. Dima Babenko (USC) 6-1, 4-1, ret.
#6 Jakob Klaeson (OM) def. Adam Adler (USC) 6-0, 6-1
