The Ole Miss men’s tennis team defeated the University of South Alabama 7-0 Friday afternoon.
Sophomore Zvonimir Babic returns a forehand volley in a doubles match against Memphis. (Photo by: Evan Turner)
The Rebels won the doubles point in a close fight; Stefan Lindmark and Ricardo Jorge won easily 6-1, but No. 1 doubles won in a tough fought match 7-5.
With these two wins, the Rebels took the doubles point and never looked back. The Rebels swept South Alabama 7-0 to improve the Rebels’ record to 5-2 on the season. Stefan Lindmark was dominant in his win over Tim Srkala 6-0, 6-4.
“From the first point to the last, we played with a purpose,” head tennis coach Toby Hansson said. “They challenged us in doubles, but once we got that, we didn’t let up. They kept working and really supported each other today. If we keep doing that, we are a very tough team to beat anywhere.”
Lindmark is now 5-1 on the year at No. 1 singles. The Rebels handled each match pretty easily except No. 4 singles where Ricardo Jorge (OM) defeated Olivier Gingras (USA) 7-6, 7-6. That was the toughest match for the Rebels, but just like all the other matches that day, the Rebels pulled it out.
The Rebels are now 5-0 when winning the doubles point. Lindmark and Ricardo Jorge improve to 5-1 in doubles this year.
“We are very pleased with the effort from all the guys. From the first point to the last, we played with a purpose,” Hansson said. “They challenged us in doubles, but once we got that, we didn’t let up. They kept working and really supported each other today. If we keep doing that, we are a very tough team to beat anywhere.”
The Rebels close out the first part of their season with a couple of thrilling wins, and a couple of bad losses.
The Rebels now move on to conference play. They start conference play next Friday at the University of Tennessee. Tennessee is 6-4 on the year with wins over Tennessee Tech, Mercer and North Florida. They did lose to Duke, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.
The Rebels will then play Kentucky on Sunday. Kentucky is having a solid season thus far, as they are 7-2 on the year. The Wildcats have solid wins on the season against Notre Dame and Indiana.
The Rebels currently sit sixth in the SEC standings. Arkansas leads the SEC with a 9-2 non-conference record.
-Brad Blaylock
