The University of Mississippi Athletics
Chris Thiemann Clinches 4-3 Win Against Louisville
2/15/2010 | Men's Tennis
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- For the fourth time this season and second day in a row, sophomore Chris Thiemann came up big for the No. 11 nationally ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team, rallying from a huge deficit to clinch a 4-3 win for the Rebels (6-1) against a feisty No. 14 Louisville team Sunday at the ITA National Team Indoor.
Thiemann had to rally to win his match after dropping the first set in a tiebreaker and falling behind 4-1 in the second set to Louisville's Robert Hall. Thiemann stormed back to take the second set 6-4 and then won the third 7-5 to send the Rebels home 2-1 for the weekend. It marked his fourth clinching victory in six wins for Ole Miss. It was especially significant this match, as Hall had beaten both top 10 opponents Ohio State and Baylor's No. 6 players in straight sets.
"This was a big for us," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "When Louisville almost beat Ohio State and then beat Baylor, they got everybody's attention, especially ours. The guy that Chris defeated was playing great all weekend."
Ole Miss rebounded after a tough opening 4-3 loss to No. 7 Georgia on Friday to down Alabama 4-1 on Saturday before beating Louisville 4-3.
"A big key to our success this weekend was our doubles play," Chadwick added. "We are really pleased with everybody's performance. We're a young team, and we're getting better with each match. It was great to see us bounce back from a tough loss to Georgia and defeat a very good Alabama team. We're going to have to work hard in every match, but we are excited about the rest of the season."
The Rebels won their fifth straight doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2 in that order. Chris and his brother, Marcel, clinched the point with an 8-3 win against Alejandro Calligari and Robert Hall, ranked No. 33 in the nation.
Louisville came out firing in singles and won the first set on four of the six courts. In one of those matches Viktor Maksimcuk defeated Rebel freshman Adrian Forberg Skogeng 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 singles to put the Cardinal on the board.
Freshman Jonas Lutjen won a huge first set tiebreaker against Louisville's Andrew Carter at No. 3 singles and then dominated the second set 6-2 to give the Rebels a 2-1 lead. Cardinal Alejandro Calligari defeated Harry Fowler 7-6, 6-4 at No. 5 singles to even the match.
Ole Miss fell behind (3-2) for the first time in the match after Louisville's Austen Childs came back to beat Marcel Thiemann at No. 1 singles. Thiemann won the first set in a tiebreaker, but Childs took the second and third sets 6-3, 6-2 respectively, to put his team ahead.
Junior Tucker Vorster squared the match yet again, as he pulled out a huge come-from-behind win at No. 2 singles against Simon Childs. Vorster lost the first set 6-4 and then he rallied to win the second set tiebreaker7-4. The third set also went to a tiebreaker, with Vorster dominating it 7-2 to set up the final outcome on court six.
The Rebels' next match will be February 27 as they host Tulane. The match is scheduled to be played outside at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, weather permitting at 1 p.m.
DOUBLES
1. Vorster/Lutjen (OM) def. S.Childs/Maksimcuk (UL) 8-4
2. Thiemann/Thiemann (OM) def. Calligari/Hall (UL) 8-3
3. Forberg Skogeng/Fowler (OM) vs. A.Childs/Gabriel (UL) 5-6, DNF
Order of Finish: 1, 2
SINGLES
1. Austen Childs (UL) def. Marcel Thiemann (OM) 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2
2. Tucker Vorster (OM) def. Simon Childs (UL) 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(2)
3. Jonas Lutjen (OM) def. Andrew Carter (UL) 7-6(3), 6-2
4. Viktor Maksimcuk (UL) def. Adrian Forberg Skogeng (OM) 6-2, 6-2
5. Alejandro Calligari (UL) def. Harry Fowler (OM) 7-6, 6-4
6. Chris Thiemann (OM) def. Robert Hall (UL) 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-5
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 5, 1, 2, 6
