James Shortall Captures First Collegiate Title

Oct. 31, 1998

OXFORD, Miss. - James Shortall of the Ole Miss men's tennis team captured his first collegiate title Saturday, defeating teammate Vikrant Chada as the Rebels dominated the Ole Miss Indoor Championships.

"This was a big step forward for this young team," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "The tournament featured an extremely strong field and our showing should be a huge confidence builder and motivate the team to continue its hard work."

Shortall, who improves to 14-3 on the season, defeated Chada 7-5, 7-6(2) in the all Ole Miss final of the tournament, which featured national powers Mississippi State and Tennessee. Shortall held an early advantage in the first set, but saw Chada come back before taking it 7-5. In the second set, Chada jumped out to the early lead, but Shortall rallied to take it to a tiebreaker before winning.

The Rebels dominated two of the top teams in the nation, as three made the semifinals and six were in the quarterfinals in the inaugural event. In the second round, Anders Stenman knocked off one of state's top players, Matthieu Ballay and Shortall defeated nationally-ranked Jeremy Bayon, who is one of the Bulldogs most consistent performers. Memphis native Ben Cousins had a huge win in the tournament, defeating Paul Podbury of Tennessee in straight sets. Podbury played No. 1 for Tennessee most of last year. Freshman Martin Selin advanced to the semifinals.

The Rebels will now get ready for the Region III Championships Nov. 5-8 at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga.

OLE MISS INDOOR TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS - Oxford, Miss.
FINAL - James Shortall (OM) def. Vikrant Chada (OM) 7-5, 7-6(2).

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related Videos