Mississippi Johan Backstrom hits a forehand during a match earlier this season. Ignacio Murillo I The Daily Mississippian
After nearly two weeks off from action, the Rebel netters are set to host Southern Miss today in a doubleheader at the Gillom Sports Center. The first match is set to being at 10 a.m. with the second match scheduled at 2 p.m.
The No. 21 ranked Rebels will look to bounce back after their disappointing performance in the ITA Kickoff on Jan. 25-26, where they failed to pick up a win. Ole Miss suffered a close loss in their first match of the ITA Kickoff against Michigan, 4-3. The Rebels, then, fell to Clemson in their next match, 4-2. Ole Miss dropped to No. 21 in the ITA rankings after starting the season ranked No. 11.
Doubles play seems to be the weakness for the Rebels, as they failed to win a match in doubles play in the ITA Kickoff. Winning the overall point in doubles play will be key for the Rebel netters in future matches.
Southern Miss enters the doubleheader with a 4-2 overall record. The Golden Eagles started the season strong with wins at home against Jacksonville State and Jackson State. They, then, played in the Runnin’ Rebel Classic in Las Vegas where they finished 2-2. They picked up victories against Weber State and UC Riverside. Their two losses came against UNLV and New Mexico State. Southern Miss has a lot of experience on their team, with four upperclassmen, led by senior Paulo Alvarado.
“Southern Miss is a well-coached team and is solid from top to bottom,” head coach Billy Chadwick said in a story by Ole Miss Sports Information. “I’ve been impressed with how hard our guys have worked this past week, and we are looking forward to Friday.”
The Rebels hope that the strong play of junior Nik Scholtz and senior Johan Backstrom continue into Friday’s match, as they both have 2-0 records in singles play. Junior William Kallberg fought through injury in the ITA Kickoff as they hope he will play better Friday. Sophomore Stefan Lindmark showed a lot of fight in the ITA Kickoff going 1-1 in singles play. The Rebels also hope to get better play out of their younger players in freshman Vinod Gowda and sophomore Zach Wilder.
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