Rebel Netters Shut Out Murray State In Season Opener

OXFORD, Miss. The No. 6 nationally ranked Ole Miss men’s tennis team shut out Murray State 7-0 in the season opener Wednesday afternoon at the Gillom Sports Center.

“It’s exciting to be able to get the new guys on the court,” head coach Billy Chadwick said.  “We have a lot of depth and the team is very close.  Our success this season will be centered around our depth.  We are pleased with the turnout for our first match. I think the fans sensed that it is going to be a great year.”

The Rebels got on the board first by dominating the doubles.  They lost only four games in all three matches.  With the win, the Rebels improved to 81-4 since 2002 when winning the doubles point.

Junior Jakob Klaeson recorded a shutout on the scoreboard against his MSU’s Hunter Gerlach at No. 3 singles to give the Rebels a 2-0 lead.  Fellow junior Robbye Poole increased the advantage to 3-0 with his straight set 6-3, 6-1 win over Dmytro Hryhorash on court two.

Senior All-American Eric Claesson clinched the victory, defeating last year’s Ohio Valley Conference player of the year, Fadi Zamjaoui, 7-6(3), 6-3 at No.1 singles.  Afterwards, Claesson talked about being back after taking the fall off.

“It was hard to get in a rhythm against him.  I played a lot in the summer and fall, but I haven’t played much in the last few weeks.  I need to hit a lot of balls.  That will help my game. I am glad I won today.”

In his first dual match as a Rebel, freshman Kalle Norberg was impressive in downing Racer Yuri Pompeu, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4 singles.    Norberg has only been in Oxford a little over a week after joining the team this semester.

“I knew Eric (Claesson) and former players Alex (Hartman) and Paul (Ciorascu).  I really like it here.  We have great facilities, and we have a good team.  I felt good out there today.  It was a perfect start for me, especially getting to play doubles with Eric.”

In his first dual match for the Rebels, Chris Rea, a Mississippi native, added another point when he finished off MSU’s Jeff Lester 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 5 position.  It was a special day for Rea, who missed last spring with a knee injury.

“This is the best I’ve felt in college,” Rea said.  “I had my third knee surgery last April and spent all summer rehabbing.  I’ve been waiting on this day for a long time. It makes all the rehab and time in the training room worthwhile.”

Senior Fredrik Aarum completed the sweep, beating Racer Chris Horton, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 6 singles.  It marked his first match in nearly two years.

The Rebels return to the courts Sunday against Tennessee Tech. First serve is at 1 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center.

#6 OLE MISS   7

Murray State        0

DOUBLES

#1 Klaeson/Rea (OM) def. Gerlach/Horton (MSU) 8-2

#2 Poole/Berg (OM) def. Pompeu/Ksiezopolski (MSU) 8-1

#3 Claesson/Norberg (OM) def. Zamjaoui/Hryhorash (MSU) 8-1

SINGLES

#1 Eric Claesson (OM) def. Fadi Zamjaoui (MSU) 7-6(3), 6-3

#2 Robbye Poole (OM) def. Dmytro Hryhorash (MSU) 6-3, 6-1

#3 Jakob Klaeson (OM) def. Hunter Gerlach (MSU) 6-0, 6-0

#4 Kalle Norberg (OM) def. Yuri Pompeu (MSU) 6-1, 6-2

#5 Chris Rea (OM) def. Jeff Lester (MSU) 6-2, 6-1

#6 Fredrik Aarum (OM) def. Chris Horton (MSU) 6-3, 6-3

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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