The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
South Carolina
No. 14 Rebels Down South Carolina 6-1
3/23/2012 | Men's Tennis
March 23, 2012
OXFORD, Miss. -- The No. 14 nationally ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team rebounded after dropping the doubles point at South Carolina to dominate the singles en route to a 6-1 win here Friday.
The Rebels improved to 8-4 overall and 4-1 in the SEC as they get set to host No. 11 Florida Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. The first 200 fans to Sunday's match will receive a collector's poster of freshman Nik Scholtz.
For the third straight match, the Rebels got off to a slow start dropping the doubles point. Scholtz and Jonas Lutjen won 8-5 at No. 2 doubles, but South Carolina claimed a pair of 8-4 victories at courts one and three to secure the first point of the match.
The Rebels regained the momentum fast in singles and never let up sweeping all six matches in straight sets.
First off the court was last week's SEC Freshman of the Week, Scholtz, who downed Ivan Machado 6-0, 6-2 to improve to 10-1 at No. 1 singles and 5-0 in the SEC. Lutjen took out Andrew Adams 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3 to put the Rebels ahead for good 2-1.
Friday was the twins birthday, and they celebrated by each picking up a win in singles. Marcel Thiemann finished off Nick Jones 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2 singles to make it 3-1. Sophomore Johan Backstrom followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Kyle Koch at No. 6 to clinch.
Chris Thiemann handed Chip Cox a 6-0, 6-3 loss at No. 5 and then freshman William Kallberg defeated Thiago Pinheiro 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4 to complete the sweep of singles.
"We came out flat in doubles," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "But the guys did a great job in singles of jumping on them early and never letting up. Now we return home to face a tough Florida team. We need the tennis center packed to help us win another key SEC match."
Admission to Sunday's match is free, and with no concessions, fans may bring their own food and beverage.
Follow the Rebels on twitter at @OleMissMTennis and on facebook at www.facebook.com/OleMissMTennis.
#14 Ole Miss 6
#40 South Carolina 1
Doubles
1. Jones/Cox (SC) def. Thiemann/Thiemann (OM) 8-4
2. Lutjen/Scholtz (OM) def. Machado/Pinheiro (SC) 8-5
3. Koch/Carl Eguez (SC) def. Backstrom/Kallberg (OM) 8-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. Nik Scholtz (OM) def. Ivan Machado (SC) 6-0, 6-2
2. Marcel Thiemann (OM) def. Nick Jones (SC) 6-4, 6-2
3. Jonas Lutjen (OM) def. Andrew Adams (SC) 6-1, 6-2
4. William Kallberg (OM) def. Thiago Pinheiro (SC) 6-4, 6-3
5. Chris Thiemann (OM) def. Chip Cox (SC) 6-0, 6-3
6. Johan Backstrom (OM) def. Kyle Koch (SC) 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2, 6, 5, 4
Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations
March 23, 2012
