The University of Mississippi Athletics
Swedish Connection
11/11/2014 | Men's Tennis
By Kim Ling
Associate Athletics Media Relations Director
Before junior Stefan Lindmark and senior William Kallberg were born, Sweden was considered a tennis power on the world stage with stars like Björn Borg, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg putting Sweden on the tennis map.
"When I was younger and I started playing tennis, I didn't really understand how good they were until later, and that's when I figured out Sweden used to be one of the top tennis countries," Lindmark said.
Kallberg is from the same club as Borg, and Joachim Johansson, a more recent Swede who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 9 in the world.
Despite the success of Swedish tennis in the '70s, '80s and '90s, both Lindmark and Kallberg were drawn to other sports growing up in Stockholm, including soccer, hockey and basketball. Kallberg also participated in swimming and played golf, though not competitively.
For Lindmark, giving up soccer was hard.
"It was a tough decision," he said. "From the time I was 6 until 15, soccer was the number one sport for me. I chose tennis because that's what I was the best at. I won a lot of matches and I had fun with it."
Lindmark was always one of the top ranked players in his age group and, at 16, began traveling the world to play in tournaments. Ranked as high as No. 40 in the ITF Junior World Rankings, Lindmark reached the round of 16 at the European Championships in 2011 and played in the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon.
It was at the European Championships that Lindmark saw then-assistant coach Toby Hansson. Hansson contacted Lindmark after he got back, and the rest is history.
"I was recruited by other schools, but it was the tradition of Swedes that made my decision to come here easier," Lindmark said. "I obviously knew William a little from back home, but I also knew Backy (Johan Backstrom). I knew the coaches were really good, and that was very important to me."
While Lindmark was highly ranked and sought after by several schools, Kallberg flew under the radar, as a self-proclaimed late bloomer.
"When I was 17 or 18, I started to really enjoy playing tennis and wanted to play more, but I didn't feel like I was ready to go pro, so college was the only option for me to continue playing tennis," Kallberg said. "A former [Ole Miss] player [Alex Hartman] from my home club contacted Toby and he came and met me. I didn't have the rankings and results that Stefan did, but I guess Alex saw a lot of potential in me."
Both Kallberg and Lindmark have provided clutch moments for the Rebels. In his first year (2013), Lindmark rallied to clinch a win over Alabama on the road in his first Southeastern Conference match. Last year, he came back from down a break in the third set to clinch a huge win against then-No.10 Texas A&M in the last regular season home match.
Kallberg rallied from a set down and a break in the third set to clinch the win over Georgia in 2013, which ended up being the only conference loss of the season for the Bulldogs. There have been many others during his career as well.
After two solid first years, Kallberg was looking forward to taking the next step in 2014, but injuries thwarted his progress.
"Personally I didn't have a good year last year, fighting through some injuries. I am looking forward to bouncing back and making some noise on the national level."
For most of their careers, Kallberg and Lindmark played for legendary head coach Billy Chadwick, with Hansson as the associate head coach. Now, Hansson is in charge of the program, and Taylor Vaughn is the new assistant coach. Lindmark and Kallberg said the transition has gone smoothly.
"It hasn't changed that much," Lindmark said. "Taylor is a lot like Toby, it kind of feels like having one person. Both are really good coaches."
"It's always tough to get a new coach, especially your last year, because you never know how it's going to work out," Kallberg said. "But it has turned out really well. Taylor has a lot of energy and good ideas. We all know Toby will continue the tradition. He's pushed us hard, and also the new strength coach (Angela Baker) is really good."
With almost everyone back from last year and the addition of a talented recruiting class, both Lindmark and Kallberg are excited about the team's chances to compete for championships in 2015.
"As long as we work hard, I think we can do really well," Lindmark said. "We have the potential to be one of the best teams in the country."
"I think we have a great chance to make some noise in the SEC and nationally, especially if Nik (Scholtz - 2014 SEC Player of the Year) comes back," Kallberg said.
Players Mentioned
