Rebel Netters ready to face Jackson State

Posted on Mar 25 2014 - 6:31am by Dylan Rubino
3.25.Sports-TEN.edwards.1.web

ALEX EDWARDS | The Daily Mississippian
Nik Scholtz hits the ball during a tennis match in Oxford Sunday.

After a weekend split with a win against Arkansas and a loss to LSU, the Rebel Netters head to Jackson today to play three matches against Jackson State.

The Rebels (5-9, 3-5) picked up their third SEC win Friday at home against Arkansas 4-2. The Rebels dropped the doubles point to start the match, but rallied back and won four singles matches en route to win.

The Rebels did not have enough momentum to surpass LSU, which picked up its first Southeastern Conference win of the season by defeating the Rebels 4-1 on Sunday at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center at Ole Miss. Head coach Billy Chadwick spoke of looking for more consistency in future matches following the loss Sunday.

Nik Scholtz continued his success with wins against his opponents from Arkansas and LSU. He is currently undefeated in SEC play with a 4-0 record, and his ranking is expected to improve from 44 when the new ITA rankings are released later today.

William Kallberg’s health proves to be a major question heading into the match today. He suffered an ankle injury in his singles match against Arkansas, and it forced him to retire. He did not play his doubles match against LSU but did play his singles match, which he lost.

Chadwick said Kallberg would sit out all three matches today in order to rest and get healthy for the home match Sunday against No. 22 Mississippi State.

The Rebel Netters will look to improve upon their doubles performance in today’s matchup. Ole Miss is on a four-match streak of losing the doubles point. Their most recent doubles victory came against Vanderbilt March 14. Ole Miss has lost 11 total doubles points this year. They have played 14 matches.

First match is set for 10 a.m. today.

-Dylan Rubino