The University of Mississippi Athletics
Chadwick's Top Moments: No. 13
4/7/2014 | Men's Tennis, Blog
We begin this week with No. 13 and entering the 2002 seasonfor the Ole Miss tennis team. TheSoutheastern Conference implemented a new setup, dividing the conference intotwo divisions - SEC East and SEC West. This moment highlights the beginning of a long and impressive streak forhead coach Billy Chadwick and the Ole Miss tennis program.
In 2002, the Rebels won the first ever SEC Western Division Championship. Ole Miss finished the regular season with an8-3 conference record and a perfect 5-0 against SEC West opponents. This would be good enough for second placeoverall in the notoriously nationally dominant Southeastern Conference. The Rebels would capture the conference'sfirst ever SEC West championship by dominating in-state rival Mississippi State5-1 in Oxford for the final regular season match.
Alex Hartman and Kristofer Stahlberg were named to the 2002All-SEC team. This would mark Hartman'sthird appearance on the All-SEC team. Hartman posted a 17-13 overall record, while Stahlberg finished15-9. Additionally, Catalin Gard, MartinSelin and Claes Lindholm had strong seasons, finishing the conference slate8-3, 7-2 and 9-2, respectfully.
The Rebels would make their 11th NCAA Tournament appearancein program history, all under Chadwick, and its ninth appearance in a row. The Rebels would host a regional for thethird time in history, also all under Chadwick. The Rebels defeated Middle Tennessee 4-1 to advance to the "SweetSixteen" for the seventh time. The Rebelswould eventually lose a heartbreaker to No. 8 Pepperdine 4-3 to end theseason. The Rebels finished the yearranked No. 9 in the final ITA National Rankings, marking the eighth time innine years the Rebels ended the season in the top 10. The Rebels won 10 SEC West Championships in12 years under head coach Billy Chadwick, before the league did away withdivisions this year in tennis.
On Wednesday, we will jump to 2004 to highlight a specialindividual moment for one of the Ole Miss tennis players. Stay tuned to see the great accomplishment aswe near the top 10 moments.
Follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissMTennis and on Facebook at OleMissMTennis.Special assistance from Media Relations student Wesley Boock.
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