NCAA Championships Press Conference

Head Coach Billy Chadwick

Q: Have you learned a little bit more about Marist?

A: A little bit more. Marist is a little bit of a mystery.  If you look at it close though, it isn’t their first time to be in the NCAAs. They usually do a good job of winning their conference, and we’re excited about having a representative from as far away as New York.  On the other side of the draw you’ve got Vanderbilt and Indiana, and those are two very good teams. Of course we know Vanderbilt like the back of our hands. Vanderbilt is a tough team.  Indiana’s best win is against Michigan, who is a top-15 team in the country, so we know they can play.

Q: So that will be a competitive match?

A: It will be a great match.

Q: Not necessarily expecting to play Vanderbilt?

A: Absolutely not that’s going to be a tough match (IU/VU).  From talking to the Vanderbilt coaches on the phone you can tell they have a lot of optimism, and part of the reason why, is that they finished their exams last week.  They’re in a position right now that they’ve been getting to practice twice a day. They’ll be ready.

Q: Jonas (Berg) has been playing really well, is he the wild card that could lead you guys even further than you would normally go?

A: You start relying on someone like Jonas because he does win all the time, and at the SEC tournament he was absolutely the best player at his position in the tournament.  It wasn’t just in singles but also in doubles. If we are going to make a run, Jonas is going to have to continue his winning ways and then we’re going to have to have some others follow suit.

Q: What’s made him become so good?

A: He’s always been a very solid player. He’s starting to get more aggressive. He plays a great all around game. He’s at the top of his game, and he’s not missing. So whoever has to play him, it’s a tough assignment.

Q: Do you have to deal with egos much when you have a player who could obviously be playing a lot higher (in the lineup)? Do you have to coach them a little bit?

A: In the case with Jonas no, because he is a great team player. He’s one of these guys who takes care of his business. If he’s not playing tennis he is studying or hanging out with his girlfriend (member of the track team) who’s also from Sweden. In fact, the whole tennis team went and watched the track meet over the weekend and saw her run. Anyway, Jonas is one of these guys who takes care of his business, and he doesn’t have a big ego. He is just going out to get the job done. That’s what makes him a great team player as well as a great performer.

Q: Talk about Jonas and Erling (Tveit) in doubles.

A: You know they are a great pair, and Erling is what I would call a great shot maker. He has a big serve. He’s going to make a lot of balls too, but he is also they type who can hit the home run too.  Jonas sets the point up, and the thing that makes Jonas good is his serve is much improved over a year’s time.  That is the difference in him being able to win at one doubles versus winning at two or three where sometimes you can get by without the big serve. His serve is big now, and so he really puts that all court game in there.  And he’s got the guy playing beside him with the knock out punch. It’s a good combination.

Q: With so many seniors do you think some of the guys are hungrier or more focused going into the NCAAs?

A: They have accomplished a lot. You look at this team, they have an overall SEC championship, they’ve got four SEC West Championships, they’ve got an SEC Tournament championship, and we’ve reached the Final Four (four years ago) and since then we have reached the Final 16 the last two years.   These guys have only one thing on their minds, and it’s not coming in second.   They want to try to go out and do the same thing they did at the SEC Tournament at the NCAA’s. They know that the odds are against them, but at the same time, they have a lot of confidence.

Q: Can they draw on that a little bit by winning the SEC

A: They have been drawing on it every single day since that time. You can just tell, there is a little different swagger in practice.  These guys really believe that they can win it.  They know there’s not a team in the NCAA that can’t beat us if we’re not at our best, so look for them to be at their best. They are going to be that way, because they know if you lose go home, that’s it.

Junior Jonas Berg

Q: How did you get to the point of playing your best tennis?

A: I’ve been working very hard on my game, and it’s finally coming together now.  I feel I am playing very well. I am pleased.

Q: Talk about your serve and what you have done to improve that.

A: Before I came here I was serving pretty well, but when I started playing matches, I didn’t serve that well.  This year I’ve been serving well and playing well.  My whole game kind of reflects that.

Q: Talk about the SEC Tournament and how well you played in both singles and doubles.

A: I got a lot of confidence, only losing nine games in three matches.  I am playing well, and I am happy about that.

Q: Coach says you have been more aggressive lately, how so?

A: I’ve been serving well, so I’ve been able to get a lot more free points on my serve.  That has given me the opportunity to go for some more of my shots.

Q: What has been the key for the team to get better as the season goes on?

A: Being able to play outdoors regularly has helped.  We had to go in and out at the beginning of the outdoor season. Now everybody is playing well, everybody is used to playing outside.

Q: Have you noticed a different swagger on the team after winning the SEC Tournament?

A: I think everybody is in a little better mood now.  We are confident, and we think we have a good chance to do well in the NCAA Tournament.  Everybody is real excited.

Q: Are you pretty confident going in (NCAAs) that you can beat anybody having already played most of the teams above you?

A: We are confident going into the tournament.  We played Ohio State close, and feel we should have won that match.  Against Virginia we had a good chance.  We lost the doubles and then we won five of the first sets in singles.  We definitely have a good chance of beating them, but it will be tough. They are the favorites.

Senior Erling Tveit

Q: Talk about playing No. 1 doubles with Jonas and what makes ya’ll so good

A: We started off last fall (having never played together) and won the first tournament and then made the finals at the All-American. He’s kind of like Eric (Claesson- playing partner last two years).  I like to play with people who make a lot of returns, make a lot of balls, because then I can step up and rip it.  It’s a good fit, and we are playing really well.

Q: On what you see as Jonas’ biggest improvement since last year

A: He was a little rusty last year, because he had been out of competition for awhile before he came here.  He’s practiced really well. He’s worked hard, and I think he has improved all over the court.

Q: With so many seniors is everybody hungrier or a little more focused going into the NCAAs?

A: We are all very focused. It’s good that Georgia is not as good as they have been the past two years.  We felt like they were unbeatable (the past two years). It’s open this year. Everybody can win it (national championship).  It makes us look at it a little different.

Q: Does winning the SEC Tournament do that as well?

A: That was great.  It gave us a lot of confidence.  We played really well (in that tournament), and hopefully we can carry that with us into NCAAs.

Q: Coach (Chadwick) said you played the best match of maybe your career in the SEC final. Was that a one-time deal or are you playing the best you’ve ever played.

A: I am improving slowly.  It’s been up and down depending on who I was playing and the match-up, but I am playing pretty well now.  I finally got healthy. I don’t have any more problems with my hip, and I am feeling great.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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