Zvonimir Babic serves the ball in a match against Auburn Friday. PHOTO BY: JASON ZHANG
The 13th-ranked Ole Miss men’s tennis team defeated the visiting Auburn Tigers 4-1 Friday night at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. The Rebels improved to 11-4 on the season (3-1 Southeastern Conference), while the Tigers fell to 11-6 (1-5 SEC).
“We had a great week of practice, and we really played some great tennis out there today,” Ole Miss head coach Toby Hansson said. “I’m really proud of the way everybody was competing.”
To open the doubles portion, senior Nik Scholtz and freshman Zvonimir Babic teamed up at No. 1 doubles to win 6-2. Freshman Grey Hamilton and senior William Kallberg lost at No. 3 doubles 3-6. It came down to junior Stefan Lindmark and freshman Gustav Hansson at No. 2. The match was tied 6-6, but Hansson and Lindmark won the tense tiebreaker 8-6 to clinch the opening point for the Rebels.
Scholtz started off the singles portion of the match with an easy 6-4, 6-3 victory over Auburn senior Lukas Ollert at No. 1 singles.
“Nik was in control,” Hansson said. “He’s playing solid.”
Sophomore Ricardo Jorge held off a rally from Tiger sophomore Oliver Plaskett in the second set to win 6-4, 6-4 at No. 6 singles.
Sophomore Vinod Gowda struggled most of the match and ended up falling to Auburn sophomore Dante Saleh 6-3, 1-6, 1-6 at No. 5.
Junior Stefan Lindmark clinched the win for the Rebels with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win over Auburn sophomore Maxime Hinnisdaels.
“I lost twice in the fall to the same guy,” Lindmark said. “I feel like I’m not really the same player. I knew this match was mine. I’m so happy that I won.”
The No. 3 and 4 matches were postponed after pollen from nearby trees stuck to the courts and made them unplayable. The matches were not completed after the Rebels clinched the win.
Rebels sweep match against No. 15
Florida 4-0
The Rebels capped off their strong weekend with a dominant 4-0 shutout of the 15th ranked Florida Gators Sunday afternoon at the Gillom Sports Center. With the win, the Rebels improved to 12-4 (4-1 SEC), and the Gators fell to 9-6 (4-3 SEC).
“I feel good about where we are right now as a team,” Ole Miss head coach Toby Hansson said. “We’re playing well.”
The Rebels opened up the match strong and never looked back. They took the opening doubles point, with Scholtz and Babic winning at No. 1 doubles 6-1 over Florida sophomores Maxx Lipman and Elliott Orkin. Kallberg and Hamilton followed with a 7-5 victory over Gator redshirt freshmen Oliver Wardell and Joshua Landert at No. 3 doubles.
Ole Miss then went on to sweep the singles portion. Hansson won easily over Lipman at No. 3 singles 6-1, 6-1.
“Gustav (Hansson) looked strong out there,” Hansson said. “He didn’t make many mistakes. He never really gave the opponent a chance.”
Lindmark fought hard to win over Orkin 6-4, 6-3 at No. 2 singles.
“He’s just tough right now,” Hansson said about Lindmark. “I’m very impressed with his performance.”
Scholtz lost the first set to Florida junior Diego Hidalgo at No. 1 singles 3-6 but rallied to win the second set easily 6-3 and swept the final set 6-0 to clinch the win.
“As soon as I got that first break in the second set, I got some momentum going,” Scholtz said. “I moved into a new gear and started feeling comfortable.”
The Rebels are back in action against Mississippi State at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Starkville. The match was originally scheduled earlier in the month but was postponed due to weather.
“We’ve got three tough matches ahead of us,” Hansson said. “We’ve just got to keep it going and stay focused out there and be determined to get another couple wins.”
