Men's Tennis Takes Down Perennial Power Georgia

March 26, 1999

OXFORD, Miss. - It was a classic dual match between Ole Miss and Georgia, two of the top teams in college tennis, and as has been the story in the last several years, it went down to the wire. Rebel freshman Martin Selin won the decisive set against Bulldog Adam Seri at No. 5 singles to clinch the win for the Rebels and sole possession of first place in the SEC.

Ole Miss (13-3, 5-1) took the early lead by claiming the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and 3 doubles. Selin and Kristofer Stahlberg defeated Michael Lang and Travis Parrott 8-5 at No. 3 doubles and then James Shortall and Martin Sjoqvist downed Hisham Hemeda and Joey Pitts 8-2 at No. 1 doubles to clinch the point.

Georgia rebounded to take a 2-1 lead in the match, posting wins at No. 2 and 4 singles. Chad Carlson defeated Sjoqvist 6-2, 6-3 and then Talito Corrales downed Anders Stenman 6-3, 6-2.

Stahlberg made it 2-2 with his 6-3, 6-3 win over Parrott at No. 6 singles, and then Georgia's Hemeda held off Shortall 7-6(5), 6-3 at the top spot to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead. Rebel Vikrant Chadha defeated Pitts 6-1, 7-5 at No. 3 singles to even the match at 3-3.

That left Selin on the court in his first-ever clinching match. Selin took the first set 6-4 and then Seri won the second set 6-2 to force the deciding set. Selin went up 4-2 in the third, but Seri broke back and held serve to make it 4-4. Both held serve, but Selin broke in the 12th game, to win 7-5 and clinch the victory for the Rebels. Selin and Stahlberg are a combined 20-3 at the No. 5 and 6 positions and 9-3 in the SEC.

"It was a great team effort," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "We played exceptionally well at No. 1 doubles and with the score locked at 3-3, freshman Martin Selin did an excellent job of being poised and finding a way to win. I am extremely proud of both teams. It was a hard-fought match with great tennis and outstanding sportsmanship."

The Rebels and Bulldogs have played some exciting matches in the last few years. Five out of the last six have gone down to the last match on the court. Georgia used to dominate Ole Miss, but that all changed in 1995, when the Rebels knocked off the tennis power 4-3 in the semifinals of the NCAA Team Championships. Since then, the Georgia/Ole Miss series has become a great rivalry in college tennis.

"With our two teams so evenly matched, I feel that the crowd was the determining factor," Chadwick said. "I would like to thank everyone who attended and helped us with this victory." The Rebels will close out this four-match homestand against 11th-ranked South Carolina Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

#14 OLE MISS 4, #13 Georgia 3

SINGLES

#1 Hisham Hemeda (UGA) def. James Shortall (OM)       7-6(5), 6-3#2 Chad Carlson (UGA) def. Martin Sjoqvist (OM)       6-2, 6-3#3 Vikrant Chadha (OM) def. Joey Pitts (UGA)          6-1, 7-5#4 Talito Corrales (UGA) def. Anders Stenman (OM)     6-3, 6-2#5 Martin Selin (OM) def. Adam Seri (UGA)             6-4, 2-6, 7-5#6 Kristofer Stahlberg (OM) def. Travis Parrott (UGA) 6-3, 6-3

DOUBLES

#1 Shortall/Sjoqvist (OM) def. Hemeda/Pitts (UGA)          8-2#2 Carlson-Seri (UGA) def. Chadha-Stenman (OM)             8-4  #3 Selin/Stahlberg (OM) def. Michael Lang/Parrott (UGA)    8-5

The University of Mississippi Athletics

#14 OLE MISS 4, #13 Georgia 3

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