BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Ole Miss men’s tennis team picked up its third conference weekly honor of the season, as Otto Sauer has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday.
Sauer, a native of Motola, Sweden, went 3-1 in singles and doubles including clinching wins over No. 23 Alabama and No. 20 Auburn on the road to give the Rebels a league-leading 4-0 record in SEC play.
Against Alabama, Sauer defeated Crimson Tide senior Dan Buikema 6-4, 7-6(5) to clinch the win. Up 6-5 in the breaker, he served it out to give the Rebels their sixth win in the last seven against the Tide. At Auburn he beat senior Milan Krnjetin 6-4, 6-3 to clinch his fourth match for the Rebels this season and Ole Miss’ 22nd straight against the Tigers.
Sauer owns a 10-3 record in dual matches, 3-1 in the SEC in singles. He and junior Kalle Norberg clinched the doubles point against Auburn and improved to 4-1 at No. 3 doubles.
Sauer joins Devin Britton (Feb. 17) and last week’s honoree, Marcel Thiemann, as Rebels to earn SEC Freshman of the Week accolades this season.
Ole Miss (12-2), ranked No. 5 in this week’s Campbell/ITA National Rankings, is in Florida for Spring Break, where they will face West Florida Thursday at 1 p.m., in Pensacola.
