University of Mississippi - Ole Miss Yearbook (Oxford, MS)

Page 368 text:

364 I The Oi.e Miss 2005

Page 367 text:

WOMEN ' S GOLF STILL THE ONE The 2003-2004 Lady Rebels Golf Team achieved another season of steady PROGRESS SINCE COACH BoLGER ' s ARRIVAL, POSTING A .627 SEASON AVERAGE written by TYLER NELSON Ml the 2003-2004 season for the Ole Miss rMmen ' s golf team, the Lady Rebels continued to show steady progress after a successful year. With third-year head coach Meghan Bolger at the helm, the team posted a 92-57-1 (.617) record. Bolger also led the Lady Rebels to back- to-back NCAA Tournament appearances after Ole Miss qualified just twice in the program ' s first 16 years of playing. The team also collected four top-three finishes and seven top-five outings in the season. Ole Miss also posted a total of 25 top-20, 17 top- 1 and seven top-five efforts on the year. Though coUegiate golf is a team game, when it came time to receive awards, a few Lady Rebels shown through. Freshman Adrienne White used her good outings throughout the year and parlayed them into a Second-Team All-SEC selection. Announced on April 23, White joined a distinguished group, becoming the fifth individual in the Lady Rebels ' 18-year history to be honored. The Red Deer, Alberta native also earned the acknowledgment of being the first Ole Miss freshman named to the conference ' s second squad. During the season, she notched four top-five finishes, seven top- 10 finishes and eight top-20 efforts. White also ended with the team ' s low stroke average of 75.40. When the team awards were given out, a few were recognized for their play. Nikki Hadd was named the Lady Rebel Award Winner and Kade Davidson was recognized as the team ' s Most Improved Player. Jade Polonich was honored for the Coach ' s Award Wmner for the 2003-2004 season. One of the highs of the season came at th( annual Waterlefe USF Invitational. On March 16, Ole Miss picked up their first tournament title in nearly three years, with rounds of 30b. 302 and 318 for a total of 926. The duo of White (74-76-79-229) and Hadd (70-80-79- -229) had scores good enough to tie for fifth individually. Ole Miss took 19th-place effort at the NCAA East Regional at the Mission Inn Goll and Tennis Resort. The tournament, which ran from May 6-8, saw the Lady Rebels rebound from a tough showing in the first day. Thanks in part to Hadd, 82-77-77-236, and Sarah Kate Cousart, 87-82-82-251, Ole Miss was able to hit a respectable 989 total. The Lady Rebels hit 338 the first day and 326 and 325 in the final two days in the 54-hole outing. Mid-April saw the Lady Rebels continue their trek to the top in the Southeastern Conference. Ole Miss topped out at eighth of the 1 2 teams in the Conference Championships which took place at the University Golf Club in Baton Rouge, La. White took home third place with a scorecard of 76-70-70—216, which was even par. That was good enough to be a career best. After a tough first-day outing, Hadd stuck to it and finished in a three-way tie for seventh (77- 69-73-219, +3). Laura Evans also had a solid outing, finishing the three-day event hitting 233 (79-79-75). LADY REB Sarah Kate Cousaa from Athens, Ga., was a returning sophomore on the 2003-2004 squad. Cousart has earned two letters since the end of last season. JUNIOR LISHA BEYER, from Houston, Texas, returns to the squad m 2004 with three letters and has continuously made the Honor Roll during her time at Ole Miss. Athletics | 363

Page 369 text:

MEN ' S TENNIS ■{ WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS The Men ' s Tennis won their third straight SEC West Championship, but conquering the SEC title proved to be a battle was almost wire-to-wire. It was almost easy. But in the world of Southeastern Terence tennis, things never come easy. Nonetheless, after some late drama, the 2004 Ole Miss men ' s tennis team captured Ole Miss ' first SEC championship this millennium. It was the fourth conference title for the tennis program, which won the title in 1999 and tied for it in 1996 and 1997. It was a very exciting year for us, Ole Miss head tennis coach Billy Chadwick said. It was a great feat for the guys. We had tremendous team camaraderie. The tide meant even more to Chadwick in a year in which all 12 SEC schools were invited to the NCAA Tournament. Seven SEC schools were ranked in the top- 10 at some point in the season. written by CHRIS KIEFFER When you ' re in a conference where everyone is good, it means so much more, Chadwick said. I have a lot of fond memories from how hard the guys worked from the beginning to the end. Not only did they work hard, but they honestly seemed to enjoy it. It was great to see nice guys finish first. And it was a title the Rebels almost cruised to. After an 8-1, pre- conference campaign in which they were ranked as high as No. 2 in the country, Ole Miss started SEC play 7-0. They entered a road weekend against South Carolina and Florida in which they needed just one victory to clinch a share of the title. They were swept. Suddenly the race was wide open. The Rebels defeated Mississippi State 7-0 on April 1 to claim at least a share of the title. The whole title came down to Ole Miss ' final match of the season at Kentucky. Win and the Rebs were sole champs. Lose and they ' d have to share with Florida and Kentucky. Ole Miss fell behind 1-0 and 2-1, but won five of the six singles matches to knock off the Wildcats 5-2. Any SEC match on the road is difficult, Chadwick said. With Kentucky having a share of the SEC title on the line, this was that much tougher Plus, you had the top two players in the conference (Ole Miss ' s Catalin Card and Kentucky ' s Jesse Witten at No. 1 singles) going at it. The vianner would be the SEC Player of the Year There were all kinds of battles going on. It was a big moment for Ole Miss sports. Card won that match 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3) and became the third Rebel to earn SEC Player of the Year honors. Chadwick was named the conference ' s Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. He also won the honor in 1996. Senior Claes Lindholm was also named first team All-SEC, and senior Paul Ciorascu was named to the second team. Gard finished his junior season ranked No. 5 in the country. He went 28-9 and entered the 2005 preseason ranked No. 1 in the nation. Ole Miss knocked off Auburn and Kentucky in the first two rounds of the SEC Championships to play Georgia in the finals. Ole Miss jumped to a 3-0 lead against Georgia before falling 4-3. Still, the Rebels were chosen as an NCAA Regional host and drew the No. 8 national seed, despite being ranked No. 5 in the countrv ' . Ole Miss defeated Binghamton 4-0 in the first round, but lost to Vanderbilt 4-1 in round two. Rain forced the match to be moved indoors to the GiUom Center after the doubles point. We really felt like with a little luck, we could have gone a long way, Chadwick said. When you ' re in a conference where everyone is good, it means so much more, ' . ' Coach Chadwick said. We were extremely unlucky to not be seeded high, to have to play Vanderbilt and to have to move inside because of the rain. Bottom line is we won the SEC and finished in the top 5. You have to be happy with that. Ole Miss finished 22-5 (9-2 SEC) and ranked No. 5 in the country. It was a year they began by reaching the final four of the USTA ITA National Team Indoor, defeating eventual NCAA champion Baylor They went 12-0 at home in the regular season and improved to 15-0 all-time against SEC West opponents. The team also captured Ole Miss ' Chancellor ' s Cup for the men ' s team with the highest GPA on campus. Athletics | 365