OXFORD, Miss. The Ole Miss men’s tennis team, ranked No. 5 in the nation, is set to battle arch-rival Mississippi State in the 11th annual River Hills Mississippi Cup Thursday in Jackson. The two teams will square off beginning at 5 p.m. at the River Hills Tennis Club.
Ole Miss has won eight straight cups, including five consecutive shutouts. In addition, the Rebels have won 19 in a row in the overall series.
The Rebels are coming off consecutive 6-1 wins against No. 19 Oklahoma State and No. 23 Tulsa last weekend.
“We’ve been fortunate with the matches that we’ve had the last couple of years,” head coach Billy Chadwick said. “We’ve got a good thing going with the streak, and we hope to keep it up Thursday. If you look closer, against Tulsa, we weren’t able to play with our No. 1 player, Erling Tveit. He pulled a stomach muscle. He’s questionable for State, so that evens things out.”
Despite the absence of Tveit, the Rebels were able to rally to beat Tulsa, 6-1 with senior Matthias Wellermann stepping up to play No. 1 singles. Wellermann, in his first ever match at No. 1, defeated one of the nation’s top players, who has been ranked as high as No. 3 this year.
Mississippi State downed UAB 4-0 in its season opener last Sunday. Led by first-year head coach and former letterman Per Nilsson, the Bulldogs return six players from last season. State is led by a pair of seniors. Philippe Frayssinoux is ranked 14th nationally while fellow senior Ivan Bjelica is coming off an appearance in the finals of the SEC Indoor Singles Championship.
To order tickets to the Mississippi Cup, call (601) 987-4438.
