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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
UCF
Rebels Down UCF 6-1 to Open Season
1/16/2015 | Men's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. - A new chapter in Ole Miss men's tennis officially kicked off Friday at the UCF Tennis Complex with the 31st-ranked Rebels delivering Toby Hansson a 6-1 win in his first match as a head coach.
Prior to the match, both coaches agreed to complete all the matches in singles and doubles.
Play began with Ole Miss taking the doubles point with convincing wins at Nos. 1 and 3. At three, Stefan Lindmark and Ricardo Jorge dominated Jose Sangroniz and Tyler Pate 6-1 and then senior William Kallberg and freshman Gustav Hansson improved to 9-2 on the year with a 6-2 win over Chris Barrus and Inaki Espindola to clinch the point. Joe Rogers and Zvonimir Babic won at No. 2 doubles in a tiebreaker, 7-6(6).
Once singles began, the Rebels didn't waste any time building a 3-0 lead. Lindmark, ranked No. 80 and playing his first ever match at No. 1, took out the Knight's Francesc Aulina 6-1, 6-1. Aulina earned American All-Conference first team honors last year.
Kallberg downed Barrus 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 singles and then Jorge defeated Jesse Flores 7-6(6), 6-4 at No. 5 singles to clinch the win.
"It's great to start off the season with a win," Hansson said. "The guys have worked extremely hard up to this point. It's always rewarding to get a win. UCF played a tough match and our guys responded well."
Finishing out the scoring, Babic defeated Espindola 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 at No. 5, and birthday boy, Vinod Gowda, beat Reece Acree 7-6(5), 7-6(4) at No. 6.
The Rebels return home for the start of classes next week and to prepare for the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Gainesville, Florida next weekend. Ole Miss faces No. 13 Florida in the first match Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. CT.
For more information on Ole Miss men's tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis.
Players Mentioned
