2004 SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Two-Time All-American • All-SEC
Dean’s Honor Roll • UMAA Honor Roll

Ranked No. 1 in the nation...Needs 17 wins in singles to become the third Rebel to reach 100 career victories...Owns a career singles record of 83-25...Very quick, athletic player...Great competitor...Excellent student-athlete.

FALL 2004 (SENIOR)
Began the fall ranked No. 1 in the nation...Captured the year’s first national title, the ICY Hot/ITA All-American Championships...Became the fourth Rebel to win a national title...Defeated the 2004 Pac-10 Player of the Year, Stanford’s Sam Warburg in the final...Finished with a 7-1 record...Made the UMAA Honor Roll.

2003-04 (JUNIOR)
Became one of the premier players in the country...Finished the year ranked No. 4 in the nation in singles...Posted a 10-1 record at No. 1 singles in the nation’s top conference, to earn SEC Player of the Year honors...Became the third Rebel to earn the league’s top honor...Earned All-America honors for the second year in a row...Led the Rebels to the overall SEC Championship and their third consecutive SEC West title...Posted an overall record of 28-9, 23-4 in dual matches...Qualified for the NCAA Championships in singles and doubles...Teamed with Paul Ciorascu for a final national ranking of No. 13 in doubles and a record of 17-7...Named to the CoSIDA District VI Academic All-America second team...Selected to the SEC Academic Honor Roll...Made the UMAA Honor Roll.

2002-03 (SOPHOMORE)
Helped lead the Rebels to the SEC Western Division title and the NCAA Elite Eight...Clinched the Rebels’ berth in the NCAA “Sweet Sixteen” with a comeback win over Auburn’s Gabor Zolton Pelva...Earned All-America honors...Named to the All-SEC team...Ended the year ranked No. 19 in the nation...Posted a 30-11 overall record, 19-5 in dual matches...Went 7-3 in the SEC...Qualified for the NCAA Championships in singles...Defeated the nation’s No. 1 player Bobby Reynolds in the fall of 2002...Teamed with Paul Ciorascu for a 12-5 record at No. 2 doubles...Made the UMAA Honor Roll.

SPRING 2002 (FRESHMAN)
Huge catalyst in the Rebels’ claiming the SEC Western Division Championship and advancing to the NCAA “Sweet Sixteen”...Ended the year ranked No. 112 in the nation in singles...Posted an 18-4 overall record, 17-4 at No. 3 singles...Won eight in a row and 11 of his last 12 to end the season...Went 4-0 in singles and doubles against Middle Tennessee to help the Rebels reach the final 16...Teamed with Patrick Chucri for the first time ever in the NCAA regional and went 2-0 including a huge tiebreak win in the Rebs victory over Middle Tennessee...Went 8-3 in the SEC in singles...Clinched key wins over Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi State...Made the Dean’s Honor Roll.

PRIOR TO OLE MISS
Attended high school at Liceul Cu Program Sporting...Top 20 ITF Junior World Rankings...Won the International Tennis Championship...Finalist in Bratislava and Prerov...Played Roland Garros and Wimbledon with the Team Of the World in 1999...Top three in Romania from 1999-2002...Reached No. 570 in ATP Rankings...Defeated current touring professional Andy Roddick.

PERSONAL
Born July 10, 1981...Son of Tudor and Aurica Gard...Majoring in International Business...Enjoys traveling, reading and playing basketball and soccer...Athlete most admired is Michael Jordan...Favorite tennis player is Pete Sampras.

CAREER STATISTICS

                      Overall        Dual           Overall         Dual
Year              Singles        Singles       Doubles       Doubles
Fall 2004           7-1              ----              0-1                ----
2003-04           28-9             23-4            22-8              19-7 
2002-03          30-11            19-5            14-12            13-9  
2001-02          18-4              17-4            13-7              13-7
 TOTALS         83-25          59-13         49-28           45-23