Rebel Netters Fall Short Against Illinois

February 19, 1999

SEATTLE, Wash. - The No. 4 nationally-ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team fell short against fifth-ranked Illinois 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Friday. The Rebels will play the loser of the South Carolina/Stanford match at 8:00 a.m., Saturday.

"Illinois has proven that they are one of the top teams in the nation anytime they play indoors," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "They are a very physical team and feature an aggressive style of play. They are a veteran squad that made the finals of this tournament last year."

The Rebels took the early 1-0 lead in the match by sweeping all three doubles contests. James Shortall and Martin Sjoqvist posted their second win over a top 10 opponent in two days by edging sixth-ranked Jeff Laski and Gavin Sontag 9-8(6) at No.1 doubles.

In singles, Illinois posted wins at the top four positions to win the match. Oliver Freelove, ranked No. 7 in the nation, won a first set tiebreaker against Shortall and carried that over into the second set for a 7-6, 6-1 victory.

Illinois' Cary Franklin, ranked No. 44, rallied to defeat Rebel Anders Stenman 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2 singles. Sontag won a three-setter over Ole Miss' Martin Selin 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 at No. 3 singles, as Illinois went up 3-1.

Kristofer Stahlberg won his sixth match in a row beating Royce Ramey 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 at No. 6 singles. He has not lost a match this year. Vikrant Chada came back to beat Jakub Teply 1-6, 7-6, 7-6 to square the match at 3-3.

Sjoqvist won the first set against Laski 7-5 and then lost the second set 6-3. He was leading 4-1 in the third and had several break points to go up 5-1 before Laski rallied to take the set 6-4 and clinch the victory for Illinois.

USTA/ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, Seattle, Wash.

#4 Ole Miss   3#5 Illinios   4

SINGLES

#1 Oliver Freelove (UI)     def. James Shortall (OM)    7-6, 6-1#2 Cary Franklin (UI)       def. Anders Stenman (OM)    5-7, 6-4, 6-4#3 Gavin Sontag (UI)        def. Martin Selin (OM)      6-1, 5-7, 6-2#4 Jeff Laski (UI)          def. Martin Sjoqvist (OM)   5-7, 6-3, 6-4#5 Vikrant Chada (OM)       def. Jakub Teply (UI)       1-6, 7-6, 7-6#6 Kristofer Stahlberg (OM) def. Royce Ramey (UI)       6-3, 4-6, 6-4

DOUBLES

#1 Shortall-Sjoqvist (OM)   def. Laski-Sontag (UI)              9-8(6)#2 Chada-Stenman (OM)       def. Kosta-Teply (UI)               8-7#3 Selin-Stahlberg (OM)     def. Freelove-Nathan Zeder (UI)     8-4

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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