The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Netters Lose Heartbreaker To No. 6 Florida
3/28/2010 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. -- In a battle between two of the top teams in the nation, it came down to a tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles, which No. 6 Florida won, propelling them to a 4-3 win over No. 14 Ole Miss here Sunday at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
With the match all square at three, everyone descended on court three where Jonas Lutjen, a freshman, was locked in the third set with Gator senior, Antoine Benneteau to decide the outcome. After dropping the first set 6-1, Lutjen battled back to win the second 6-3. He had some chances to go up early in the third, but couldn't convert, and Benneteau came through 6-3 to clinch the 4-3 win for his team.
As is often the case in tennis, the doubles point proves to be huge, and Sunday was no different. The Rebels (13-3, 4-2) had several chances to get the opening point. Adrian Forberg Skogeng and Harry Fowler were up a break (5-4) and serving at three. Florida (13-2, 5-0) answered and won four of the next five games to take it 8-6.
The other two matches would come down to tiebreakers. Ole Miss would win the No. 2 court 9-8(1) with the Thiemann twins of Marcel and Chris. Tucker Vorster and Lutjen were up a break in their match against the nation's No. 10 team of Benneteau and Alexandre Lacroix. The Rebels served for it at 7-6, but the Florida duo broke back and ultimately won a tiebreaker 9-8(4) to clinch the point.
"We played a really good match, had a good gameplan. We just came up a little short in the doubles, and that proved to be the difference in the match," head coach Billy Chadwick said.
The Rebels fell behind 2-0 when Florida freshman Bob Van Overbeek defeated sophomore Chris Thiemann 6-2, 6-3 on court four.
Fowler put the Rebels on the board with an impressive 6-2, 6-2 win over fellow Bolletteiri alum Sekou Bangoura.
Florida increased its lead to 3-1 after Lacroix, ranked No. 6 in the nation, finished off Vorster 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1.
But the Rebels weren't done. Adrian Forberg Skogeng won a huge first set tiebreaker, 7-6(11) and then dominated the second set against Nassim Slilam 6-1 to make it 3-2.
"It's very disappointing to lose, because we all felt we could beat these guys," Forberg Skogeng said. "The doubles was very disappointing. We should have had that. It's good that without Kalle (Norberg), we showed that we can beat these guys. A couple of shots and it could have gone the other way.
With the No. 3 match having gone into a third set, Marcel Thiemann evened the overall score at 3, defeating Joey Burkhardt 7-5, 6-4 at No. 2 singles.
"We are very proud of the excellent play of Marcel and the twins in doubles. Also, Harry played probably his best match of the season, and Adrian did a great job. They (Florida) have not lost many matches at five and six, so that was some great playing by our freshmen."
This was the second 4-3 loss for the Rebels against a top 10 team, as they also lost 4-3 to No. 7 Georgia in the round of 16 at the National Team Indoor.
"It's tough to lose 4-3, but it gives us encouragement, that with these top teams, we're right there," Chadwick said. "We're playing with three freshmen, and you're going to have days where your freshman is facing a senior. He took him to three sets. It was a hard-fought battle, and I am proud of the guys."
Ole Miss will have to pick it up quickly, as they hit the road this weekend for matches at No. 2 Tennessee and No. 7 Georgia.
#6 Florida 4
#14 Ole Miss 3
DOUBLES
1. Benneteau/Lacroix (UF) def. Vorster/Lutjen (OM) 9-8(4)
2. Thiemann/Thiemann (OM) def. Burkhardt/Bangoura (UF) 9-8(1)
3. Van Overbeek/Daniel Cash (UF) def. Forberg Skogeng/Fowler (OM) 8-6
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
SINGLES
1. Alexandre Lacroix (UF) def. Tucker Vorster (OM) 6-4, 6-4
2. Marcel Thiemann (OM) def. Joey Burkhardt (UF) 7-5, 6-4
3. Antoine Benneteau (UF) def. Jonas Lutjen (OM) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
4. Bob Van Overbeek (UF) def. Chris Thiemann (OM) 6-2, 6-3
5. Harry Fowler (OM) def. Sekou Bangoura (UF) 6-2, 6-2
6. Adrian Forberg Skogeng (OM) def. Nassim Slilam (UF) 7-6(11), 6-1
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 1, 6, 2, 3
