The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Arkansas
Rebel Netters Down Arkansas 4-3 To Conclude Road Trip
4/2/2006 | Men's Tennis
April 2, 2006
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Ole Miss men's tennis team, ranked No. 10 in the nation, downed 16th-ranked Arkansas 4-3 Sunday afternoon at the Dills Indoor Tennis Center to conclude their final road trip of the season 1-1. The Rebels lost a tough 4-3 match to No. 19 LSU on Friday.
With the win over Arkansas, the Rebels improved to 16-3 overall and 6-2 in the SEC, while the Razorbacks dropped to 13-7 and 4-4 in league play. Ole Miss has now won 16 in a row over Arkansas.
Ole Miss took the early 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. After an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles, Erling Tveit and Eric Claesson, ranked No. 15 in the nation, edged Matt Roberts and Rohan Gajjar 9-7 at the top spot. Tveit and Claesson were down a break early and didn't break back until the 12th game. Up 8-7 the duo broke to clinch the point. The Rebels improved to 75-3 when they win the doubles point since 2002.
Robbye Poole made it 2-0 Ole Miss with a straight set win over Michael Jung on court six. He won 6-2, 6-2 to improve to 12-3 in dual matches and 6-2 in the SEC.
Arkansas got on the board when Colin Mascall defeated Jakob Klaeson 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5 singles. The loss snapped Klaeson's eight match winning streak.
Claesson increased the Rebels' lead to 3-1, bouncing back from a tough loss on Friday to down UA's Roberts, 6-3, 6-2 on court two. He is now 7-1 in the SEC and 13-3 at No. 2 singles.
The Razorback's Adrian Zguns came into Sunday's match needing two wins to notch his 100th career victory, and he didn't get any closer, as Ole Miss' Tveit, ranked No. 16 in the country, handed the 13th-ranked player a 6-3, 6-3 loss at No. 1 singles to clinch the Rebel victory.
Arkansas won the remaining two matches in tiebreakers for the final 4-3 score.
"This was a big win for us on the road against a top 20 team," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "Arkansas came into the match trailing us by only one game in the SEC West, so they had a lot at stake in this match. Road wins in the SEC are tough to come by. Robbye played greatl all weekend, and Erling and Eric played great at the top for us today. Bram and Pablo played well despite losing."
The Rebels will return home to host Tennessee and No. 1 ranked Georgia next weekend as part of Red/Blue Weekend at Ole Miss. The Volunteers come to town Friday for a 2 p.m. match. The first 100 fans to the match will receive a free Rebel tennis t-shirt courtesy of the Ink Spot.
DOUBLES
#1 Tveit/Claesson (OM) def. Roberts/Gajjar (ARK) 9-7
#2 ten Berge/Di Cesare (OM) vs. Zguns/Strode (ARK) 8-7, sus.
#3 Poole/Klaeson (OM) def. Austin King/Mascall (ARK) 8-3
SINGLES
#1 Erling Tveit (OM) def. Adrians Zguns (ARK) 6-3, 6-3
#2 Eric Claesson (OM) def. Matt Roberts (ARK) 6-3, 6-2
#3 Rohan Gajjar (ARK) def. Bram ten Berge (OM) 3-6, 7-6(3), 10-4
#4 Blake Strode (ARK) def. Juan Pablo Di Cesare (OM) 7-6(3), 7-6(4)
#5 Colin Mascall (ARK) def. Jakob Klaeson (OM) 6-2, 6-3
#6 Robbye Poole (OM) def. Michael Jung (ARK) 6-2, 6-2
