Ole Miss Men's Tennis Punches Ticket To Sweet Sixteen

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss men's tennis team punched its ticket to the "Sweet Sixteen" here Saturday at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center with a 4-1 win over South Alabama in the second round of the NCAA Championships.  The Rebels, seeded No. 7, will face the No. 10 seed, Illinois, who edged Michigan 4-2 to advance.

The Rebels and Illini will square off Thursday, May 17 at 11 a.m. CT, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

This marks the 12^th time for the Rebels (24-4) to advance to the round of 16 and the third year in a row.  With the win, the Rebels have now defeated South Alabama (21-5) twice in the NCAA second round, also posting a 4-0 win over the Jaguars in 1999.

“I would like to say how proud I am of the entire aspect of our tennis program, from the fans, to how hard the guys prepared and played,” head coach Billy Chadwick said.  “They played really well.  That was a very talented South Alabama team.  We had to work hard to come away with a victory.”

Ole Miss, who finished the year undefeated (14-0) at home, dominated the doubles to take the early 1-0 lead.  The Rebels are now 20-0 this season when they win the doubles point and 100-4 since 2002.

South Alabama got on the board as Marek Sramek defeated Robbye Poole 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3 singles. The Jaguars won the first set on court two, but Ole Miss took the first sets on the other four courts, including a pivotal tiebreak at No. 4.

Jakob Klaeson stepped into singles this weekend while Matthias Wellermann rested his back, and gave the Rebels two wins.  He downed USA’s Craig Dunn 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6 to make it 2-1 Ole Miss.

“I played really well today,” he said.  “From the start of doubles, I felt good. I didn’t feel the heat at all.  I got a running start in the beginning of the first set and just kept doing what I do best, and I won.

“This is one of our main goals (Sweet Sixteen) of the season,” Klaeson said.  “If we don’t make the Sweet Sixteen, I would and I think the whole team would think of it as a failed season.  This is everything to us.  We’ll take it step-by-step from here and try to reach the finals and see what we can do.”

All-American Erling Tveit put the Rebels within one with his 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 1 against Jaguar Dias Doskarayev.   The junior went 3-0 in singles and doubles this weekend to improve his NCAA record to 12-1 in three years.

“I thought I played pretty good. I was serving well.  I am playing a lot better than I have been. I was able to break him (Doskarayev) in the first set and get some momentum.   He started playing better in the second set and I didn’t return as well as in the first set.  It got pretty close, but fortunately, I was able to finish him off.”

Freshman Kalle Norberg has been automatic for the Rebels all season, and came up big Saturday, cruising to a 6-3, 6-2 win over R.J. Nagel on court five to clinch the win.   This marks the third time this season for Norberg to clinch a huge win for the Rebels, also clinching wins over LSU and Tennessee as the Rebels won the SEC West for the sixth year in a row.

“I didn’t realize I was going to be the one to clinch it,” Norberg said.  “I knew that Jakob won.  Then I heard that Erling won, so I knew I was it.  It’s great to get to the Sweet Sixteen.’  This is my first year, and it’s going to be fun.”

When the match ended, Eric Claesson was down 0-2 in the third set on court two, and Jonas Berg was up a set and 2-1 on court four.

“The point in time when I really thought we turned the match was when Jonas won his first set at No. 4.  We won three first sets, but you never know if you’re going to get the second set.  Every person in the place, when they saw him get that first set, it really gave us some extra momentum.”

Ole Miss and Illinois have a history in the NCAA Championships.  The Rebels bested the Illini 4-3 to advance to the Final Four in 1999, and then Illinois won a 4-1 match in 2003 and went on to win the national championship.           

NCAA Men's Tennis Championships Second Round Oxford, Miss.

Ole Miss 4

South Alabama 1

 

DOUBLES

#1 Tveit/Claesson (OM) def. Sramek/Hodel (USA) 8-1

#2 Wellermann/Berg (OM) vs. Baker/Nagel (USA) 4-4, sus.

#3 Poole/Klaeson (OM) vs. Dunn/Doskarayev (USA) 8-3

SINGLES

#1 Erling Tveit (OM) def. Dias Doskarayev (USA) 6-2, 6-4

#2 Eric Claesson (OM) vs. Jack Baker (USA) 3-6, 6-2, 0-2, sus.

#3 Mirak Sramek (USA) def. Robbye Poole (OM) 6-3, 6-2

#4 Jonas Berg (OM) vs. Robert Hodel (USA) 7-6, 2-1, sus.

#5 Kalle Norberg (OM) def. R.J. Nagel (USA) 6-3, 6-2

#6 Jakob Klaeson (OM) def. Craig Dunn (USA) 6-4, 6-3

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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