IGNACIO MURILLO | The Daily Mississippian
Nik Scholtz celebrates after defeating USC’s Yannick Hanfmann in a match Wednesday. Scholtz won 7-5 7-6 (5).
The USC Trojans proved why they are ranked No. 4 with a 5-2 win over the Rebel Netters yesterday.
The Trojans flexed their muscle early by winning the first two doubles matches, both by a score of 8-3. USC clinched the victory after the first four singles matches as junior William Kallberg, sophomore Stefan Lindmark, freshman Ricardo Jorge and freshman Vinod Gowda each fell to their Trojan opponents. Despite the early decision by the Trojans, the two teams continued with the match schedule.
Junior Nik Scholtz continued to impress. He defeated No. 11 ranked Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 7-6(5). The victory marked the second for Scholtz against a ranked opponent in the last four days.
Senior Johan Backstrom fought back from dropping the first set and won his match 3-6, 6-3, 10-5. Even with these two wins, the Rebels faced the depth they expected in USC.
“We know that USC is one of the top teams in the country, and they showed that today,” head coach Billy Chadwick said. “Across the board, we are getting better with every match. Because of this match, I feel like we are better prepared for the match coming up on Friday.”
On Sunday, the Rebels went to Lexington to play Kentucky and lost 4-1, but Scholtz picked up a win against Tom Jomby 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4, who was ranked 10th nationally in singles at the time. Scholtz entered the match ranked No. 44, but with the win yesterday and the precedent win against Kentucky, he can expect the ranking to improve.
“I know my opponent pretty well, he’s a very good player,” Scholtz said. “I knew it was going to come down to one or two hits of the ball. I was able to get those points. I have a lot of respect for him. I am happy with the win. It’s a good one for me.”
The doubles point continues to haunt the Rebels, and they could not get off with the point advantage for which they were hoping yesterday. The Trojans controlled singles play to achieve the victory and showed why they are a top five team in the country.
The Rebels have a quick turn around. They will host SEC opponents this weekend with Arkansas on Friday and LSU on Sunday.
