Men's tennis caps season with No. 3 National Ranking

from special reports

The Ole Miss men's tennis team ended one of the most successful years in the history of the program ranked No. 3 in the nation in the final Division I ITA collegiate rankings released Thursday.

The Rebels (21-6) were the SEC regular season champions and advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

It marks the sixth year in a row that the Rebels have ended the year ranked among the top 10 and the fourth year overall to be among the top five.

The Rebels finished among the top five in 1995 for the first time ever after advancing to the NCAA Final. In 1996, they captured the SEC Championship and ended the year ranked No. 4. In 1997 they won the SEC Championship again and reached the Final Four to finish No. 4 in the nation. Last year the Rebels ended the year ranked No. 6.

After losing All-American Sebastien DeChaunac, who was ranked No.1 in the nation last year, this year was thought to be a rebuilding year for the Rebels, but they quickly established themselves as a team to be reckoned with.

After a tie for fifth at the National Team Indoor, the Rebels went 9-3 in the SEC, which boasted six teams in the NCAA Final 16 and three of the four semifinalists.

"This was a rebuilding year and we had a lot to prove," head coach Billy Chadwick said.

"This team was very special in the way that they reacted to each other. This was especially true at the NCAA's as we had a different hero in each match. These guys have worked hard and are very deserving of finishing No. 3 in the nation."

The Rebels posted nine wins over teams that finished the year ranked among the top 20, including four in the top 10. The SEC had four teams ranked in the top 10 with Georgia (No. 1), LSU (No. 4), Florida (No. 8) and nine in the top 20 in the final rankings.

"This was a young team that grew up quickly in the SEC," Chadwick said. "They will always remember the run we had at the NCAAs and I look for great things from this team in the future."

Individually, the Rebels had four players in the final singles rankings. Sophomore James Shortall ended the year ranked No. 28 with a 33-20 overall record.

He earned All-SEC honors in singles and doubles and played No. 1 for the Rebels after spending his freshman year at No. 5 and 6.

Junior Martin Sjoqvist finished the year ranked No. 75 in singles with a 27-17 record, 9-4 at No. 2 singles. Sjoqvist, an All-SEC selection, graduated on May 8, in only three years.

Martin Selin was one of the top freshmen in the country, finishing ranked No. 85 with a 29-12 overall record, 13-3 at No. 5 singles. He clinched the match against Illinois that sent the Rebels to the NCAA Final Four. Anders Stenman earned a final ranking of 76th.

In doubles, Shortall and Sjoqvist ended with a final ranking of 26th and an overall record of 21-8.

The pair earned All-SEC honors in doubles and reached the finals of the SEC Indoor Championships.